Land Of Confusion
by Sewer Slider
Summary: Part three of the 'Choosing Destiny' trilogy. Tensions are running high all over the city and under it too. Things are about to get a whole lot worse... COMPLETE!
1. Prologue

**Author Note: **Hey all! I know I said this wouldn't be available until Christmas - but I lied. I'm a bad girl.

This fic is the third in a trilogy. The first part is caled 'Choosing Destiny', the second 'Estranged'. If you haven't read these already, then you probably should or else this won't make any sense at all.

_**&&&&&&&&&&**_

Four weeks. Four whole _weeks _and still no signs of the turtles who had murdered her father.

Karai punched the practice dummy with a viciousness that was maybe unwarranted considering she was supposed to be merely training – but she had to take her frustrations out on something. The dojo was located within the temporary home of the Foot. It was fortunate that Master Saki had several such bolt holes located around the city, although most of the Foot, even the Elite, had no idea where they were until Karai told them, although their existence had to be suspected. They certainly couldn't use their previous location anymore. Something else to lay at the door of the turtles.

Her broken fingers ached as the bones knitted back together and she had to content herself to using only her left hand and her feet to attack the dummy with. Michelangelo had injured them the night her father had died. He had tried to throttle her with his nunchaku and she had managed to get a hand between the chain and her throat, perhaps the only thing that had saved her from being killed. The turtle had been out of his mind, seemingly twice as strong as he ever had been before. Her bruises had faded, the lingering aches mostly gone save for the two fingers of her right hand. She wondered if they were faring any better or if their own injuries were forcing them to remain hidden rather than come after her.

She _wanted_ them to come after her.

Oruku Saki had saved the turtles, saved from a life hidden beneath the streets of New York, scavenging for scraps, splashing through germ-laden water and stinking recesses. He had given them a home, a family, sheltered them, trained them. He had thought of them as his sons. And what had they done in return?

Turned on him. On the whole clan. Freed the rat, one of the Masters hated enemies and battled the Foot to escape. And tried to kill the only father they had ever known. Not that they had succeeded.

Retribution had been swift, the battle with Leonardo forcing the others out of hiding. The Foot's only mistake had been allowing them to escape and recover – and return. It should never have been a problem. They had been allowed to reach Master Shredder, that he may exact his own revenge after his betrayal. But things had gone wrong too fast. They had underestimated the turtles. And when she had dispatched of Raphael and the hated rat, Leonardo retaliated faster than anticipated, using the stolen Sword of Tengu to murder the Shredder, driving the blade through his alien form. Karai, helpless, could only watch.

But she had escaped. And she _would _have revenge. Honour demanded it.

_And what of their honour,_ a treacherous voice in her head spoke, the part of her that had once called the turtles allies and a apart she was determined to see buried forever. _Did they feel that they had to do what they did because of honour?_

_They HAVE no honour, _she told herself firmly, angrily leaping into the air and kicking the head right off the practice dummy, watching it sail through the air and come to rest against the far wall of the dojo.

She wished she could do the same to the turtles.

Grabbing a towel from nearby and draping it over her neck, she took a rest. She had been training hard recently, very hard. She had to. Her position within the clan remained precarious. The Foot had been loyal to the Shredder for hundreds of years. She was a newcomer, an imposter, even if Oruku Saki had called her his daughter and it was her right to succeed his rule. She had been forced to prove herself worthy of their loyalty in combat, taking on the Elite guard after she had been in a long fight against the turtles and watched her beloved father murdered. It was a fight she had won – barely. She had forced the head of the Elite to swear fealty to her, or lose his head. He had done so and the other ninja had followed his lead, but she was under no illusions about their feelings. She would have to prove herself a worthy leader before her position was secure. And the only way to do that was to take down the one who had slain their former master.

Everything it seemed led back to the turtles.

And she had lost Hun. No great loss for herself, she had despised the man, thought him a moron and a brute, but he had always been a loyal servant of the Shredder and his absence wasn't unnoticed among the Foot. He had turned to the Purple Dragons as their leader and had big plans to their future by all accounts. He knew too much about how the Foot worked. He could cause them great harm at a time when they were already weakened, something Karai couldn't allow.

She had gone to see him at the Purple Dragons base of operations. Hun had learned plenty about the importance of appearances from Oruku Saki and rather than the back alley hideout she had expected, instead found a luxurious penthouse apartment. Playing on the importance of appearance, she had set things up as a business meeting, knowing Hun wasn't stupid enough to try anything on her that might blow his cover. Foot ninja accompanied her, dressed in conservative business suits. Hun was similarly flanked by his own minions, the more respectable looking types. The whole thing was a charade. Had he got hold of her, he could have broken her in half without breaking a sweat. Not that he ever could – she could have killed him before he moved.

"You're going up in the world," she had said, remaining standing.

Hun had nodded, a slight smirk on his face. "I'm not changing my mind Karai. I served Oruku Saki. I will never work for you."

"I wouldn't expect you to."

"So why are you here?"

"We have a common problem. Three in fact." Karai had sat herself on the edge of his desk, letting her skirt ride up slightly. She wasn't above using every tool in her arsenal to get her way, including the advantage afforded to her by distraction. She doubted it would work too well, but it could leave Hun more open to suggestion.

She tried not to shudder as Hun's eyes roamed over her legs, oppressive as a physical touch. "The ones who killed my father. The turtles."

"As soon as they surface, we'll bring them down," said Hun dismissively.

Karai's jaw had tightened. She was head of the Foot clan and not used to being dismissed, especially by some overgrown ape like this. "The turtles have overcome the Purple Dragons before."

"And the Foot." Hun's voice had dripped with sarcasm and Karai restrained herself with an effort.

"Yes. And if what I suspect of your plans is true, you are planning to expand the interests of the Purple Dragons."

"Worried?"

"Not at all. But the turtles are strategists. They will find out your plans and act where and when you are weakest. I propose that on this matter, if no other, we work together."

Hun had raised an eyebrow.

"Your expansion could bring you into a battle with the Foot over territory that the Foot has found – lucrative and the Purple Dragons would no doubt be interested in acquiring. But when we fight each other, we leave ourselves open to the treacherous _scum _who murdered my father. I am more interested in their demise than in squabbling over a few operations. I want the turtles found. And I would imagine you want the same thing."

There had been a few moments silence as Hun weighed this up. "And if we were to find the turtles?"

"You would not find me ungrateful."

Abruptly, Hun nodded. "Fine. We'll call a truce – for now. But the Purple Dragons aren't going to wait forever for you to exact revenge. As soon as the Foot get in our way, we'll take them down."

Recalling the meeting, Karai smirked and pushed her sweaty hair away from her face. She knew Hun would just as soon double cross her as look at her. Which was fine, as she felt the same way. Even if Hun did uphold his side of the bargain, she wouldn't be rewarding him. And if he thought he could take what was the Foot's from under her nose, assuming the organisation was weakened with the loss of the Shredder – he had another think coming.

But there was change in the air. News of the Foot's current situation was leaking. Which meant that the other gangs in the city would know the Foot was vulnerable and the Dragons were no longer a part of them. It would cause upheaval, confusion and there would be those trying to capitalise on that. Hopefully, with the Purple Dragons at least temporarily not one of their problems, it would leave them time to fight off the chasing pack, as the Foot afforded the same courtesy to Hun's gang.

For now.

The Foot were loyal to her, for the moment at least and they had a new building in which to train and plot. She had managed to keep up her fathers public persona, announcing to the media that he had passed away and announcing her intentions of taking over his business empire. There was little else she could do. The stock had fallen, but not by as much as she had feared. And that was the least of her worries. There were people legitimately employed who could deal with that kind of thing if it became necessary.

She was more concerned with what would happen without their main base of operations. And should the turf war that was no doubt brewing would esculate ebfore she could have her revenge.

Those turtles. Her main concern.

Throwing the towel aside, she exited the dojo and strode down the hall, intent on taking a shower. She was determined to see this thing through to the end and there was much for her to be optimistic about.

Hun may have chosen to leave the employ of the Foot, but Stockman had chosen to remain, under threat of losing his funding. Among other things. Hun's last act as a member of the Foot was to ensure he suffered for what had happened to Saki. He had sworn his new exo-suit would be the thing to keep Saki from being killed but in the end it had not helped. Hun had always been loyal to the Shredder, if not the Foot itself and upon hearing of this failure, had been more than happy to teach Stockman a little 'lesson' as his final orders.

Karai had spoken at length to Stockman shortly afterwards, pointing out that they could live in some semblance of harmony. He would still have Stocktronics funded, his research would continue. Or he could rebel and be crushed. Stockman was far from stupid and agreed to Karai's terms. Shw ondered occasionally if he harboured any kind of plans for revenge for un's treatment of him – but she doubted he would have the guts to carry out any plot unless the odds were heavily in his favour. She intended to see they never were.

She had the loyalty of the Foot. If she continued with caution, she would have it forever. An army of her own would be a definate bonus should she discover the whereabouts of the turtles.

And when she did... she had something in store for them.

A smile curled at her lips. Oh yes, when she found the turtles, they were going to suffer, the way she had suffered at the fate of her father. They would die, eventually – but she would make their last breaths a torment to them, let them know that it was over – and she had won. And there was nothing they could do about it.

She looked forward to it.


	2. Where Are You Now?

**Where are you now?**

_Swish..._

The sword sliced through the air with a whisper of perfectly honed steel, the blade wickedly sharp. Had anyone been in its path, they would have had their flesh slit down to the bone before there was a chance to cry out. But there was no one there to get in the way.

And the one wielding the sword was too good to make those kind of careless mistakes. If the sword were to rip through a person, it would be because he wanted them dead.

Concentrating fiercely, Leonardo went through the kata again. And again. He could do it already, but it wasn't good enough. It had to be perfect. And he wasn't going to stop practising it until it was. Anything less than total accuracy wasn't good enough – it could mean the difference between their lives and their deaths.

And he had a score to settle, one that demanded he be at the peak of his skills and stay there. He didn't know when he would be able to avenge what had been done to his brother and his Sensei, but when the time came, he would be ready.

His brother.

His _failure_.

Leo began to go through the kata again, trying to focus still further. But as happened so often these days, he could taste bitter defeat trying to get through his defences. Gritting his teeth, he tried harder to block out the sensation, but it always found a way to return, to torment him.

They had defeated the Shredder, he would remind himself at such times. Driven the Sword of Tengu right through his alien form.

_But the price was too high, _was the invariable comeback.

Raphael was missing. Possibly dead. _Probably _dead. Splinter too. Because he had led them into a battle he had been ill-prepared to lead. Because he was inadequate.

_Because of Karai._

Without warning, he turned and hurled the katana in a deadly accurate throw that impaled the punch bag Raph used so often. It immediately began to leak stuffing and Leo knew if Raph had been there to see the state of it, there would be hell to pay.

But of course, he wasn't there.

Leo glared at the katana for a moment, then his shoulders sagged. _Was_ it his fault? He had hesitated. Karai had been standing over Donnie and Leo had paused, letting their shared past cloud his judgement. Remembering how they had grown up together, been friends, hoping against hope that she would see that her loyalty was horribly misplaced. And if she didn't, Donnie could move in time and he could get to her even if he didn't.

But Donnie hadn't been her target.

He didn't even know if Raph was still alive or not. Mikey had gone after their brother and Karai got the drop on him, leaving him unconscious and with no knowledge of what had become of either Raph or Splinter after they had fallen off the building.

Sometimes, it seemed harder not to know than if they had died for sure, been left for himself and Donatello and Michelangelo to find. That would be painful, horribly painful – but this limbo was worse. A part of him was sure they were alive and his instincts screamed at him to do something. Not that there was anything he _could_ do at that point. Other times, he was convinced that no one could have survived the fall, that Karai had stolen the bodies to play with their minds, give them some illusion of hope and steal it from them when it would best suit her purposes. In battle no doubt. She had to know that they intended on avenging their fallen brother.

Or there were other things she could do, things that didn't bear thinking about for long. She could get money for DNA such as theirs, plenty of money. There was always her pet scientist Stockman, assuming he hadn't bailed out of the operation when Oruku Saki died – but that wasn't his style, not when there was money and resources to be had.

Or there were ways of using their broken corpses to take the fight right out of the three remaining mutants. Things that could cause them to react blindly, to lash out, to give up caring about their own well being.

Leo _refused_ to lose any more of his brothers to this feud.

He knew what they thought. Donnie believed there was no way either Raph or Splinter had survived and mourned them as if they were dead. He cited probabilities related to the height and speed of their falls, the evidence left behind by his broken bo. There was a constant, dull hurt in his eyes as he recited the facts. He didn't want their brother to be dead – but his own scientific outlook wouldn't let him think otherwise.

Mikey insisted Raph and Splinter were both alive, being kept prisoner somewhere by Karai. His own theory related to the lack of bodies found, that Karai had been on the helipad that night, the surprisingly small amount of blood. Donnie had once or twice tried to explain these away, citing shattered bones rather than open wounds, but Mikey had an almost hysterical refusal to listen. He wouldn't accept the possibility that they could be dead.

Leo didn't know what to think.

He wanted desperately to believe that Raph was alive, that somehow he had survived the fall and Karai had taken him as a bargaining tool. That she would try to use him to make them all give in to her. There was something almost comforting in that, knowing if that was the case they could maybe form some kind of plan that would allow them to get to Raph and at the same time, exact some revenge on Karai. But having seen how far it was to fall and knowing that Karai knew all too well the advantages that could be gained from messing with their minds by giving them false hope – he found it hard to reconcile that with any possibility of survival.

And even if Raph _had_ survived, would Splinter? Raph had the added protection of his shell, although it made Leo cringe to think of how it would have shattered upon impact. Splinter had no such protection and he had been the first out of the window. The odds that Splinter had lived were low. Leo grieved for the rat of course, the way he had brought them together as a family, tried to help them, teach them. Even after they had tried to push him away, he had persisted and it was his doing that they had been able to recover enough to take on the Shredder at all.

But most of his sorrow was on behalf of the brother with whom he had grown up, argued, played, trained, fought both against and beside.

_Alive or dead?_

If he could find Karai, maybe he could somehow force her to talk. Tell him what had happened that night after she had run from the room where the Shredder had died and vanished into the night, taking with her all knowledge of the fate of their brother...

And would she tell him the truth, even if her life was at stake?

She wanted revenge on them as badly as they did against her, that was something he had to keep in mind. She would stop at nothing to break their minds and bodies, nothing. She would be relentless.

And she would be looking for them already.

He would find his answers. He would find a way to make her tell the truth, find out what she had planned. He'd make her tell him what she had done with Raphael – and then he would make her pay for what she had taken from them.

But he _refused_ to risk his family again.

Donnie had been hurt in the last battle, badly enough for him to have been taking it easy on his training. Mikey too had been injured, but there was no sign of him letting up. His wounds had been more superficial, but that wasn't the reason. The re-emergence of his more cheerful, jocular personality hadn't lasted, not after what had happened at the Foot headquarters.

He wouldn't let either of them be taken or killed like he had let Karai do to Raph.

Straightening up, Leo went over to the punching bag and took his katana from it, returning to the kata he was determined to perfect.

_I do what I have to, to protect this family..._

_No matter what._

Donatello could hear the sounds of his brother training but didn't pay them much attention. It seemed as if Leonardo did little else lately. Donnie himself couldn't do very much ninjitsu until his injuries were all healed up, but they seemed to be mending rapidly.

His physical wounds anyway.

There was a war coming, he knew that. They would have revenge for what had happened to Raph and Splinter. But for that, they had to have the advantage. Their numbers were depleted and all of them were mentally and emotionally damaged. Karai would be able to use that against them. They had to have something they could use against her.

To that end, Donnie had been doing some work of his own. He had made motorcycles for all of them, trying to force away the knowledge that Raph would have loved something like that. Especially with the added bonus of weaponry he had added to them. He had made a tunneller with the vague notion they might use it to get into the new Foot Headquarters from below. He worked on weapons, making himself a new bo. And he carried the lone sun and moon dagger that Raph had left behind with him at all times.

He worked on his inventions until he fell into an exhausted sleep. It was the only way he could get any rest these days. Otherwise he lay awake, staring into the dark, reliving the moment Raph had died over and over again.

_Karai cutting the rope that tethered Raph to the building, Donnie helpless to do anything as the severed end fell through the window, out of Donnie's reach, nothing he could do..._

He had also been monitoring the Foot, or trying to, with his computer. There had been a slight dip in the stock value of their legitimate businesses, but that had soon stabilised. There was little or nothing to be found in those files anyway. Anything to do with mutants was unlikely to be legitimate.

He had tried everything he could think of, chasing possibilities, even googling for information. He had turned up nothing, no mentions anywhere of advanced mutations or any new research into the topic that would suggest an agency had got hold of Raphael's DNA. Hacking into one of the Foots legitimate enterprises, a bio lab, had yielded nothing.

He doubted Karai was stupid enough to put that information where it could be hacked – she knew after all that he was good at that stuff. But Stockman was another matter. The man was filled with his own importance and the odds were that if he knew anything, it would be accessible. Difficult but do-able. Stockman would assume that he was far too clever for Don, in spite of the fact that the mutant had proved otherwise time and again.

But there was nothing. It was a frustrating time for Donnie. He had scoured the net for _anything_ – rumours, heresay, just something that didn't quite add up. _Anything_ would have done.

Nothing.

Stockman himself was recuperating from an 'accident' according to what Donnie had read. The man had lost an eye and a hand, was forced to wear a prosthetic limb. Donnie doubted that was an accident. He suspected Hun had more to do with that than was let on by the official statements from Stocktronics. Stockman had to have been angered and humiliated by that and Don filed the knowledge away for later use. It might prove to be a chink in the Foots armour.

If it was, it seemed to be the only one.

April had come down to the lair on occasion to help with the search. With the antique shop in ruins, she had decided to stay with Casey. The turtles had offered for her to remain with them, but she had declined and Donnie didn't blame her. They weren't exactly the most gracious of hosts at the moment. Her own reports of what was happening above ground gave Don some grim satisfaction. There was gang violence erupting all over the city. That had to mean that news of the Foots defeat had spread. Maybe with the Foot and the Purple Dragons with them kept busy, they would be able to take Karai by surprise when they acted.

When they managed to find her.

She had made several public appearances, dedicating a building and a statue to Oruku Saki. Donnie had felt the uncharacteristic urge to go graffiti on the ugly thing. But there was no word on where she was staying or even if there were any plans to renovate the original Foot Headquarters. Rebuilding elsewhere could take years, making Don suspect that at some point they would begin work on the building, restoring the tech he had fried and improving defences.

If work did begin, Mikey would know about it. But Mikey wasn't talking.

Don worried about both of his brothers. Mikey insisted that Raph had to be alive, refused to even hear the suggestion that he might not be. His optimistic nature was funnelled into that one hope, with nothing left over for anything else. He was quiet and brooding, leaving the lair to go looking for Raph or Karai. His constant vigil on the streets had led to several shouted arguments with Leo.

Leo had also began to brood, with all the intensity that he usually gave to training. He had changed overnight, becoming darker and silently angry. The fury radiated off him, never vocalised. He trained into the small hours, determined to protect all of them at any cost. And he was hard in a way he had never been before. Donnie's attempts to speak to him about it had been brushed off and Don was slightly afraid to say what he was thinking – that the silent, angry, cold demeanour had begun to remind him of Oruku Saki. That would no doubt send Leo off the deep end and Don no longer trusted him to know when to stop.

Sighing, Don adjusted his welding mask and returned to his worktop. Leo might be present in the lair, but Donnie had no idea were Mikey could be. He was out scouring the streets. Again. And he never took his shell-cell with him anymore. If Don called him, he would hear the tone emerging from Mike's room. If something happened, Mikey would have no way to call for help. And no matter how often Don pointed that out, Mike wasn't listening.

He was beginning to get pissed off with the pair of them.

As Donnie had suspected, Mikey was out of the lair, searching for a sign – any sign – of Karai's whereabouts. She and she alone knew where Raph and Splinter were, therefore she was Mikey's best chance of getting his brother back. He had to find her, follow her, discover where she may be hiding them.

He used the rooftops as easily as the streets, more easily since there was less need to hide in the shadows. His feet pounded the bricks, his arms pumped to increase speed, his scars stood out in livid contrast to his green skin. There were more scars since that night, but those would fade. The Shredder's marks never would. One side of his wide mouth was frozen in a sneer, the other side was turned down in displeasure. Anyone who did see him would recognise immediately that he was not to be messed with. Not right then.

He cleared the distance between buildings with ease, although one slip would have sent him plummeting six storeys to the ground. He was taking more chances these days, too many. The rooftops were higher, the gaps between them longer, the leaps to the ground more nonchalant. He knew he was courting death, but wasn't sure he cared much.

Landing on the next rooftop, his heel scant inches from the edge, he slowed to a walk and crossed the distance to the other edge. From this vantage point he could see the Foot Headquarters, dark and silent.

He usually ended up here at some point during the night.

He could see the sign of the Foot, a mere silhouette against the building without the light that had powered it before. Clenching his fists, he glared at the symbol. The place where he had grown up. The people who had made him who he was. The ones who had taken his brother. That symbol was the embodiment of everything that had been his life – and everything that had ever gone wrong with it.

_The Foot. _

There was no sign that anyone was working on the building – but like Donnie, he believed it was only a matter of time. Building another skyscraper to suit their purposes would take too long and in spite of the ruined tech, the building itself was structurally sound. He had the sudden urge to sneak inside the building, pour some petrol around the place and set the whole sorry mess on fire. He quelled the urge quickly. As long as the building was there, Karai could return to it. The building was his best chance of finally spying her.

In spite of the satisfaction it would give him to dance in the ruins of the building, he couldn't risk it.

He would find Karai. Karai would lead him to Raphael. And then he would get his brother back and kill her. For what she had done to all of them, but especially to Raph and Splinter – and to _him_. Because in spite of his insistence that the two were alive, there was a part of him that he buried and tried to ignore, a part that whispered to him that they were dead after all...

He knew Don thought they were dead and thought Mikey's inability to admit it meant he was delusional. Yeah, well maybe Don wasn't as smart as he thought he was. And on the few occasions that Leo had confronted the issue, he had narrowed his eyes and growled that he didn't know.

Leo was really beginning to get on Mikey's nerves.

Leo was supposed to be the leader, the turtle of action. Instead, he was hiding out in the lair and training all the time, insisting they had to wait until Donnie was healed up. In Mikey's opinion, he should have made Donnie stay home and the two of them gone after Karai, before she had a chance to recover from their first attack. But Leo was being over-cautious instead of acting, training all the time instead of doing something that might actually get their family back. And he was trying to exert his authority over them, ordering them around. Every time Mikey came back from one of his late night hunts, Leo would snarl at him, telling him it was too dangerous, that he should be training and not wasting his time, demanding he remained home. Sometimes, Mikey would ignore him and go to his room without answering. Other times, he would yell back or storm out of the lair. If it was still dark, he might return to his searching. In daylight, he would just wander the sewers, his mind in turmoil.

As children, he had been a little jealous of Leo. Leo was Master Saki's favourite, he never got in the way, never made Master Saki angry with stupid, childish pranks. And he had never had to be as severely reprimanded as Mikey had been.

No wonder the three of them hadn't trusted Leo when they discovered Splinter.

Mikey sighed, looking at the ground six storeys below. The first person he had told about Splinter was Raph, the one turtle of the four of them that he thought could be trusted with such a massive secret. And Splinter had reached out to him, trained him in the use of the nunchaku and even laughed at his lame jokes. Mostly, Splinter had seemed happy just to be around them.

If _Leo_ had been the one to go down to the helipad that night instead of him, reflected Mikey bitterly, he wouldn't have been taken by surprise, oh no. _Leo_ would have known somehow that she was there, avoided the knock-out dart and stopped her cold, before she could take Raph away. Ha, and Donnie would probably done some speedy micro-surgery using a katana and an ice cube.

Sometimes, Mikey thought privately that it might be for the best that Karai had Raph and Splinter. Not that he was happy about it, but she was in more of a position to tend to whatever wounds they had, people working for her who would know how to do that and had access to facilities that would make recovery possible. All they had to offer someone grievously injured was a dark, dank sewer and whatever medical information Donnie could glean from the internet.

But most of the time, it worried Mikey that Karai had his brother. Their well being was not in her best interests and she had to have some secret reason for wanting them. Likely as pawns, so she could lure the rest of them into a trap. Or something even more sinister. Surely she would want Leo more than either he or Donnie, or Splinter or Raph. After all, Leo was the one who had finally killed the Shredder, once and for all.

And they had all grown up with Karai. Mikey knew her well. What Karai wanted, Karai got, no matter what she had to do to get it. No one had been as determined as her, not even Leo. Although he seemed to be getting more like her with each passing day.

_Where is she hiding_?

It was so _frustrating_ not knowing where she was, not being able to act. If he could find her, he could _do_ something, be that much closer to finding Raph.

He _had_ to find Raph. The others were doing nothing, so it was up to him.

But it didn't look like he was going to trace Karai tonight. There had been no sign of her anywhere, he hadn't seen a Foot ninja since their battle against the Shredder he could follow, no way of knowing where she had relocated to.

Sighing, he turned reluctantly away from the Foot's deserted Headquarters and ran across the rooftops in the direction of home. He had broken up some gang activities that night – no Purple Dragons, but some punk kids trying to muscle in on their territory. They had no idea who they were messing with. It was better that they faced Mikey's anger than the wrath of the Purple Dragons. At least he left them alive and scared rather than dead too young.

_Like Raph – no, Raph's alive, I know he is..._

Every time he stopped a mugging or a robbery, he asked the same question of the terrified criminals. "Where are the Foot?" None of them had known. Even the Purple Dragons seemed to have been laying low. Either they were more scared of the retribution of the Foot than they were of Mikey, which seemed unlikely with his green, scarred visage growling in their face, or they were telling the truth. Mikey believed the latter.

He had learned more about the Purple Dragons using the same tactics – and what he had found out was strange. It didn't gel with what he knew. Apparently the Purple Dragons had gone up in the world, rumours of fancy new digs and shadowy activities running rife amongst the gangs in the area. No one knew much more than that though. And Mikey couldn't figure it out. Karai led the Foot with the demise of the Shredder and she had never liked the Purple Dragons. They had their uses, but she found their methods distasteful. Maybe it was a way of consolidating her own position; giving the Dragons a veneer of greater success than they actually enjoyed.

But the violence on the streets was reaching crisis point. He was only one turtle and couldn't be everywhere at once, so he imagined he missed much of what went on. The results he sometimes saw on the news, when he could bring himself to watch.

The sewer entrance closest to their lair loomed up ahead and he dropped to the floor from a greater height than his brothers would approve of, silently blending into the shadows and raising the manhole cover. He might be done for the night, but he wasn't looking forward to facing Leonardo.

The sewers were as dark and dank as ever and Mikey frowned. If it hadn't been for Shredder, he would have grown up down here with Splinter as a father rather than Oruku Saki. Would the constant isolation and unpleasant living conditions be a fair trade for never having to deal with Saki as a mentor?

Yes. Of course it would.

Strolling into the lair, Mikey was relieved to see neither Leo nor Donnie about. Probably both asleep. Leo had been driving himself pretty hard and Donnie never seemed to rest at all. But Mikey wasn't tired and threw himself onto the couch, grabbing up the remote and flipping aimlessly through the channels.

_Click. _Cartoons. He wasn't really in the mood.

_Click. _Music channel. Again, not in the mood.

_Click. _Titanic rerun. Yeah, just what he needed, to be _more_ depressed.

_Click. _Formula one. Raph would probably ask him to keep it on.

_Click. _Discussion programme. The topic was the recent gang hostilities in New York. It was about even who was shouting the loudest. Mikey kept it on for a few seconds, smirking at some of the uninformed opinions spouted at both sides.

_Click. _The news. More on the gang violence of late. Mikey left it on, considering what he knew about the Foot, the Dragons and what had been going on of late. There was a definite territory war on, that was for sure, but the Foot and the Dragons ought to have squashed the few rival factions before now. Why hadn't they?

And then the answer occurred to him, so simple that he almost groaned aloud at the realisation. Karai and Hun didn't like each other. Not in the slightest. Hun was loyal to the Shredder, but would he take orders from Karai?

Mikey doubted it.

So if Hun had split from the Foot, odds were he would be left to lead the Dragons. And he wouldn't be satisfied with retaining the territory the Dragons had already had. He would want to expand, not just to piss off Karai but to prove that he could. To enjoy the same level of power he'd had as right hand man of the Shredder, but this time under his own terms.

So the Foot and the Dragons were divided. Maybe fighting against each other. And there were other gangs taking advantage of that, which was the real reason things had been escalating of late.

Mikey smiled. Not his former, sunny smile, but a smile with undertones of pure malice. So the Foot were having problems. And the Dragons were occupied. There just might be a way to use that to his advantage.

And then he could force Karai to release Raphael and Splinter. And get some measure of revenge at the same time.


	3. Haunted

**Author Note: **A huge thank you to those who nominated me in the fan fiction awards! I'm pleased and proud and squirming in excitement!

This part of the trilogy is going to be the most action-heavy and things will be moving quickly. The whole fic may run to ten or eleven chapters with an epilogue. I'm hoping that no one thinks that the character development has been neglected, but don't hesitate to give me an honest opinion!

Oh, forgot to mention this at the start. None of the characters are mine, all are canon. I just like tormenting them.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

The Mobsters had been ready for this war for a long time. Or so they had thought.

For too long the Purple Dragons had controlled the West Side for a long time. With the backing of the Foot clan and seemingly unlimited resources, it had seemed there would never be a shift in power. It had irked The Boss for a long time, but there was nothing to do but be patient.

And then word had got around that the Foot's mysterious backer had withdrawn his funding to the Dragons. A snitch the Mob paid off told the same story; the Dragons were on their own. The money was no longer rolling in and the Purple Dragons would need to bankroll their own operations and fast.

The perfect time for the Mob to muscle in on the operation. Strike while the Dragons were at a disadvantage. Without their funding they would have to go looking for money and soon. Without their backup, they wouldn't have the resources that had helped them for so long. And with the outbreak of a turf war, many of the less loyal members would think it better to do a quick fade before they became targets, there would be less new blood enticed by the lure of the gang if membership brought a higher chance of a bullet to the head.

At least, that had been the plan.

What they couldn't have known was that Hun had not remained loyal to the Foot, rather he had chosen to lead the Dragons, ousting Dragon Face, who had only ever been a titular head. Not only that, Hun had big plans for the gang and he was far from the cruel, bumbling bully he seemed sometimes. What had seemed like a sure way of removing the Purple Dragons from the West Side had turned into an ugly, drawn out mess.

The Mob had been incautious, The Boss would admit that if only to his inner circle. He had thought that by striking hard and fast, the Dragons would be caught off guard and there was a good chance they could do most of their damage with the first attack. But Hun had foreseen the move and prepared for it, the resulting fight causing losses on both sides. It was too late to pull back and think things over.

There had been other gangs involved at first, young punks for the most part who were grabbing the opportunity to seize some power and notoriety for themselves, kids who didn't have a clue what they were getting in to. They were put out of the war early.

But the Mob, they had experience, numbers, already had territory elsewhere in New York. And to back away now would to be admitting defeat, making them look weak and putting what they already had in jeopardy.

Not to mention the Foot were still around. They had been a lot less active of late, since the split with the Dragons, but no one was making the mistake of thinking they had gone for good.

The Boss had retired to a private room in the hideout the Mob were using in the small amount of turf they had succeeded in gaining. There were Mobsters surrounding the building, in every room, all armed and ready to use their weapons at the slightest sign of trouble. He was as safe as a man in his position was ever likely to get.

His right hand man, Weasel, was sat at the opposite side of the table as the two considered what to do about the problem of the Purple Dragons.

"We are _not _backin' down, not now," growled The Boss angrily, banging on the table with his fist. "Ain't no way. Those Dragons are gonna learn some respect!"

"Right!" agreed Weasel in his irritating voice. "What we gonna do Boss?"

"We gotta hit the Dragons where they live, take their territory, show 'em we ain't to be fucked around with," replied The Boss. "Make a hit on the Warehouse District tonight, everyone's gonna know it was us and we got back at the Dragons. Word is, they're plannin' somethin' big tonight. Some kinda major haul. I want it."

"Good plan Boss!"

The laugh startled both of them. Looking for the intruder, they grabbed for their weapons – but before The Boss could stand, something flew from the shadows and pinned his sleeve to the table.

A ninja throwing star.

His eyes narrowed. "Foot ninja."

"Ninja," corrected a voice from the shadows, sounding cold and angry. "Not Foot."

Weasel turned in all directions, searching for the source of the voice, but the room was in deep shadow and there was no sign of the intruder.

"How'd ya get in here?"

"I got in here because your so-called 'Mobsters' are pitiful," replied a voice from somewhere in the shadows. Whomever it was, they sounded pretty young, late teens perhaps, in spite of the hard edge to the voice that added years in built-up anger. "But I _came_ here because I might be able to help you with something."

"Like what?" Weasel sneered, weapon still at the ready.

"An enemy. Two in fact. The Foot ninja. And the Purple Dragons."

The Boss exchanged a look with Weasel and gestured for him to lower the weapon slightly. "Help us how?"

"Your plan's pathetic. Hit the warehouse. Fight the Dragons. Take the haul. You don't think they're ready for you? If the Dragons wanted this kept a secret, you wouldn't have heard anything about it. You're falling right into their trap. Again."

The Boss scowled, peering into the shadows. He thought he could see a figure silhouetted in the shadow, leaning casually against a wall, but it looked somehow wrong, ill-proportioned.

"What you _should_ be doing is making the Dragons and the Foot fight each other. Let them tear each other apart rather than waste time and energy on constant battles."

"Then we can go in and take apart who's left!" Weasel looked excited by the idea.

The figure shrugged, or seemed to. "I guess."

"You don't seem too pleased about us taking over the city," said The Boss, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. "What's in this for you?"

There was a suggestion of teeth, perhaps a smile. Or perhaps not. "Let's just say I've got my own reasons for wanting them all out in the open."

The Boss shrugged. So the guy had a vendetta. So what? If he wanted the Foot and the Dragons taken down so badly and he really did have something that could help them, why not use that?

"Why should we trust ya?" Weasel brought the big question into the open. "And even if we did, what makes ya think ya've got anything that could give us the upper hand?"

The figure took a step forward and once again The Boss noticed the odd proportions of the figure. He barely emerged from the shadows enough to see his height, certainly not enough to see his features – but that sense of the stranger being disfigured remained, intensifying when he threw something at the table. The hand that was briefly visible had only three fingers and those seemed too thick for a normal hand.

Another shuriken hit the table, this one not sticking in the wood but clattering harmlessly to a stop. The Boss picked it up cautiously – he heard ninjas did all kindsa weird shit with poisons – and examined the carving in it. The symbol of the Foot clan.

"Where'd ya get this?"

"I've tangled with the Foot clan before," replied the figure. "And I'm still here. I know a lot more about them than any of your Mobsters, more about the Purple Dragons too."

And then the figure stepped forward, into the light.

Both men widened their eyes and involuntarily raised their weapons higher. Had they thought the silhouette was odd? No wonder! This – _man_ – was maybe five feet tall, bald and_... green_. There was something on his back that looked suspiciously shell-like. And deep marks ran down his face, as if at some point he had been cut open and sewn carelessly back together.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Weasel, perhaps unwisely. "Man, are you _ugly_!"

"You're wearing _that _tie and calling _me _ugly?" The – whatever it was – glanced at their guns with contempt. "Don't bother. You couldn't hit me anyway."

The Boss didn't reply, a memory suddenly stirring. He had heard a rumour about a member of the Purple Dragons being some kinda weird punker with seemingly green skin. Could it have been _this_ guy? It might explain why he had a grudge against the Dragons.

"Shut up Weasel," snapped The Boss, surprising the other man. "OK kid. You're on. We're allies."

"_Temporary _allies," snapped the scarred creature. "I don't care what the Mob does. I just want the Foot drawn out."

"Fine, _temporary_ allies." The Boss smirked slightly. "What did ya have in mind?"

The creature narrowed his eyes, as if debating whether or not to continue. But the inner struggle was brief and a moment later, he took a chair at the table with the other two and began to speak.

_&&&&&&&&&&&&&&_

Donatello had a police scanner hung up near his work bench, in order that he could hear if anything sounding like a Foot ninja strike occurred. What he had heard the last couple of weeks worried him a great deal. Since Raph had – died – he had heard a lot about the escalating gang violence, but the past ten days had seen the few incidents flare into all-out war.

The Purple Dragons territory had been repeatedly hit, in several strategic points. Their grip on their strongholds had been weakened in a short space of time. The places the Dragons often used for business, the docks where they stole, the warehouses they used for storage, had suffered some kind of attack since the wars really went into gear and Don was surprised. The Dragons were high profile, but still secretive. It seemed unlikely that these were well-known places to hit. The Dragons tended to work quickly and in groups, no doubt leaving the places that had been hit with the minimum amount of guards. And to counter further attacks, their members could have to be thinly spread, unable to do much to enhance their reputations or make further advances in the war.

It was as if someone had known where to aim when trying to take down the Dragons.

If that were all,. Donnie could write it off as someone out for the turf the Dragons had previously enjoyed and dismiss it. But there was something else, something equally sinister.

Several legitimate businesses had also suffered through gang violence. Most people would not have noticed the link between the seemingly unconnected and random attacks, but Donnie had been a Foot ninja for too long and recognised a few of the names. Research had told him the rest. Tracks had been covered and holding corperations were used as a front for the money in more than one case, but the main shareholder was always the same person; one Oruku Karai, who inherited the shares. Anything she had bought since the Shredder's demise had remained unscathed.

Donnie had known that Hun and Karai could never co-exist within the Foot and had guessed that the recent Purple Dragon activity meant both were heads of their own separate organisations, a fact he had neglected to share with his two brothers due to their inability to discuss the subject without resorting to bickering about what they _should _be doing.

But fighting each other so soon? It seemed – incautious to Don. Karai was a schemer, she wouldn't be worrying about petty territorial wars right now unless she had been forced to. Then again, Hun wasn't quite so smart and he disliked Karai a lot. Maybe he had forced her hand.

_Why_ though? What could the Dragons gain by waging war with the Foot at this point, when there was time to build their forces and strengthen their own resources?

Donnie had been out of the lair on several occasions when he had heard something on the scanner that sounded like the Dragons. Each time, he had found nothing. But with things the way they were, it was just a matter of time before he was able to find the Foot and maybe, find some of the answers he and his brothers needed before they could move on. Like what that bitch had done with the bodies of their brother and Splinter.

Leo didn't seem to have noticed much about the topside fights, although Don had the feeling that Leo was trying to deflect attention from what he was and wasn't noticing. Mikey was barely around anymore, either hiding out in his room, training somewhere or out on the streets looking for the Foot himself. It drove Leo mad, to the point where he and Mikey barely spoke unless it was to argue.

Both of them had gotten very – _intense_, Don decided. He wasn't much better himself, obsessively building and training harder than he usually did, now that he was over the worst of his injuries.

But Leo was broody, training with a ferocity he never had before. Everything seemed to be personal to him now, whereas at one time he might have allowed for his brothers' grieving and encouraged them with patience and understanding, he seemed focused only on enforcing what he saw as the best course of action. He refused to try to relate to them anymore. It wasn't mourning, it was tempered with anger and a need for control.

That was it, thought Don gloomily. Leo had lost control once and was refusing to relinquish it again, to anyone. Even if it was control over their own actions.

Mikey was angry, with himself, with them, with the Foot – he had changed completely. But Mikey had never been the kind of turtle to wait for action. Like Raph was – had been – he preferred to act. Never before as incautiously as their hot-headed brother, but waiting and talking about what they should do bored him. Mike wasn't handling the whole thing very well. But in the past, in a stressful situation he would train hard, having had it drilled into him by Oruku Saki that all things bad could be avoided by focusing on ninjitsu. It was rare he would take off alone for a long time and never had it happened every night for a prolonged period.

Ii was beginning to worry Donnie. Where exactly was Mikey going every night? Just trying to gather his thoughts, find the Foot? At first perhaps, but something had changed. Mike was still pissed, but there was a kind of grim pleasure in him now too.

Whatever it was, he wasn't sharing. Don just had to hope he hadn't traced Karai and decided to take revenge without them. It seemed unlikely – but with Leo and Mike at each others throats all the time, Mike might be being childish and insisting on his own way. Which Leo would never let him have in his present state of mind.

The police scanner had been quiet on the subject of gang violence so far that evening, but it was still early. Nothing much would happen until later on. And if it _did_ involve the Foot, Donnie would be ready. He had been working on trackers, miniature cameras, listening devices, anything that could be used to trace a Foot ninja back to where he came from.

So far, Donnie hadn't seen any Foot ninja and none had seen him, otherwise he would have been in a fight for his life moments later. But there was still a chance they may be lured out by the recent attacks on them...

And then Donnie had a thought. What if he were to trace a Purple Dragon instead? That course of action could lead them back to Hun and in turn, they might be able to find something out from there. Not form Hun himself, but maybe from his records or by following him. They were after all ninja, they were used to operating in secrecy.

The more he considered it, the more he liked the idea. A Dragon wouldn't be too hard to spot. In fact, had he thought of it just a few days earlier, he could have known this stuff already.

Although he did have other things on his mind.

Instinctively, he touched the sun and moon dagger on his belt, vowing as he always did that his brothers killer would meet justice. No matter what.

A noise disturbed him and the steely resolve with which he always made his promise to his brother gave way to weary indignation. Mikey was emerging from his room, probably about to leave again. Of late, he had been returning to the lair in the small hours of the morning and sleeping in until midday. Leo wasn't happy about it and Mikey's attitude didn't help matters. Leo himself was doing katas in the main part of the lair, which meant Mikey would have to go right past him to leave. Which would lead to another fight.

Sure enough, Leo's voice sounded a moment later. "Where are you going?"

"Out." Mikey, unrepentant.

"No. It's not safe. And you've been neglecting training..."

"No I haven't. _You_ just haven't noticed."

Don sighed, a frown forming on his face. This was _too much_. Was he the only one of them who realised that if they were to go up against the Foot and Karai, they would have to be _together_, not arguing, not fighting for control, not pulling away.

As Don went out to see what was going on, he was greeted by the sight of Mikey walking past Leo to head into the sewer. Leo caught Mike's arm, scowling.

"_No_ Mike. I mean it. You haven't found any trace of Karai yet, so we ought to be here getting ready for when she decides to strike..."

Mike pulled his arm away from Leo sharply. "Forget it Leo. We _could _ have found her by now, if you weren't hiding down here with your head stuck in your shell!"

"No we couldn't! She's in hiding until she's ready to face us and we couldn't find her!"

"She's got Raph!"

"We can't _know_ that!"

_"I know!"_ Mikey turned to face Leo, furious. "Raph's alive and the more you stay down here and insist on _waiting_, the more danger he's in, him and Splinter both!"

"Even if they _are _alive, we won't help them if we get ourselves _killed_ because we rushed in without a plan!"

"Oh, so we get _Raph _killed by waiting instead!"

_"Shut up!"_ yelled Donnie, surprising himself as well as his brothers, who stopped fighting and looked at him, startled.

He walked out into the main area, glaring at the others. "Don't you _get _it? If we don't work together, get through this together, we've no chance against Karai! She might as well not bother coming after us because left alone long enough and we'll be on our own anyway and all because _you two_ can't stop _fighting_!"

Don stopped, wanting to say more but not quite sure how. He wanted to tell them that if they didn't have each other they had no one and they should get over themselves, stop dishonouring Raph and Splinter by giving their killers the upper hand. But that sounded cruel and as mad as he was, he could never hurt them like that.

And while he debated, Mikey hit the ultimate rebuttal. "You don't even think Raph's alive."

Don wanted to argue that, but it was true. He didn't believe Raph could have lived, or Splinter. But that wasn't the point. The point was, they would never be able to avenge their family without being united.

"I..."

"I knew you'd take his side," added Mike. "Well, just because _you've_ given up on them, doesn't mean _I _have to. I'm going."

"I'm not on his side, or yours Mike," said Don, furious, suddenly understanding Raphael better than ever. No wonder his brothers could drive him nuts. "I'm on _Raph's_ side. I want us to hold it together long enough to see Karai get what she deserves."

"Raph's side, bullshit." Mike snorted without humour. "If you were, you'd be looking for him. Getting even isn't as important as finding Raph. No matter what you two think."

Mikey went to storm out of the lair into the sewer. Before he could, something silver flew across the room and buried into the wall a few inches in front of his beak.

A katana.

Mike slowly turned his head, tearing his gaze from the sword still vibrating gently in front of him and focusing on Leo. Leonardo returned the look with a glare of his own.

"You're not going Mike."

Don held his breath, unable to believe that _Leo_ had just done that. Leo, usually the model of restraint, had just tried to use an intimidation tactic on Mikey.

Mikey curled his hands into fists as the pair stared watch other down, Don off to one side, almost forgotten, wondering if he was about to have to separate a real fight between them instead of just a war of words.

"Screw you Leo," said Mikey eventually, his voice filled with scorn and anger. "You don't scare me. I'm going to find Raph, with or without your help and there's nothing you can do about it."

And with that, he yanked the katana out of the wall, threw it on the floor and stormed out.

Don turned his head to look at Leo, who was staring after Mike. "Why the hell did you _do_ that? Things aren't bad enough already, you have to practically _threaten _Mikey? _That's _really gonna help. We have to stick together right now and all you can do is try to throw your weight around and..."

Trailing off, Don realised that Leo was barely listening to him. Nothing unusual about that these days. What was new was that Leo had lost the intense glare that had been a part of him since the night they had fought the Shredder and a look of disbelief was spreading over his face. Disbelief and shock.

"I can't believe I just did that..."

"Well, you did. Nice going." Don folded his arms, not sure if Leo would retreat, justify what had occurred.

Instead, Leo shook his head slowly and looked miserable. "I just – it's not safe, Mikey going out looking for the Foot all the time, but he won't listen and – I couldn't think of anything else to stop him!"

"You're the one who's not been listening," replied Don, seeing a way of maybe, finally, getting through to Leo. "You try _ordering_ Mikey around, but you don't give him a reason to listen to you. You didn't even bother to try tonight, you just saw him leaving and tried to force him to do what you said."

"I'm supposed to be the leader..."

"No one can follow a leader who they don't believe in."

"Like the Shredder," said Leo quietly. "He tried to force us to follow him, do just what he said. By using threats."

Don shrugged. "You've been under a lot of pressure."

"We all have." Leo sheathed the katana and straightened, determined. "I've got to go after Mike."

"Might be a good place to start," agreed Donnie. "I'll come with you."

"No. I..." Leo sighed. "I need to talk to Mike. We haven't exactly seen eye to eye lately. I have to apologise."

Nodding, Donnie put a hand on Leo's shoulder. "Mikey'll understand."

"Maybe," said Leo. "I – I just don't want to lose anyone else because I failed to look after you two."

"We didn't lose Raph and Splinter because of you," said Donnie. "Maybe _Mike_ isn't the only one who needs to forgive you."

"I wish I knew where he went," said Leo, choosing to ignore Don's last remark.

"No idea," replied Don. "He's never said anything about where he goes. And he doesn't take his shell-cell."

"Guess I'll have to try it the old fashioned way. Look."

Don almost smiled as Leo walked into the sewers, hoping to catch up to Mikey. Maybe things would be OK for them after all, if they could pull the family – or what remained of it – back together. It rather depended on Mikey and Leo.

Returning to his workbench, Don glanced over at the police scanner as it spat out some message about shots fired in a residential neighbourhood. If he heard something about the Foot on there, this was the best time since he had been listening for them. They could work out a plan as a unit rather than a disjointed, embittered group.

_If_ there was any activity.

Leo jogged briskly through the sewer, seeing no sign of Mikey. Thinking about it, Mikey was most likely at some point to end up near Foot headquarters. If he waited there, it was possible he might be able to catch up with Mikey and speak with him before the end of the night.

That was good. He had a lot he wanted to get off his chest.

He didn't know what had been happening to him since Raph had – well, since whatever had happened to Raph. He had been irrational, he could see it now. The problem was, he didn't know if he could change. Or even if he should. He was doing the best for them all, wasn't he? He was the leader.

Raising a nearby manhole, he checked his surroundings and quickly leapt out onto the streets, blending expertly with the shadows. He could trace his way to Foot headquarters with his eyes closed, all he had to do was find a place where he could see anyone approaching and wait for his brother to show.

OK, so maybe the katana had been over the top. If he could explain to Mike that he just wanted what was best for the family, Mikey would understand. He wasn't unreasonable.

The more he thought about it, the more he believed he hadn't been in the wrong. Or if he had been, his actions were still justified. And Mikey hadn't exactly been rational, had he? Taking off at all hours, never telling them where he was...

Leo was lost in his own thoughts, but he had been studying ninjitsu a long time and was good, not just at the fighting but at other, less well known aspects. Like being aware of his surroundings. He knew the marker was flying at his back as soon as it left the unseen assailants hand. Turning, he caught it between his hands without so much as cutting his skin, the point less than an inch from his beak.

It was not the traditional marker of the Foot clan, but the message it carried was the same. A challenge. Dropping the marker, Leo drew a katana and stared into the shadows.

A man emerged – a tall man, well over six feet tall, muscular but not muscle-bound, wearing a long purple cape and a mask that was frozen in a perpetual smirk. Leo was instantly on guard, sensing that the man was enjoying this moment.

"Young warrior. The one they call Leonardo. I had travelled to this dimension to battle Oruku Saki – the Shredder. But you stole that honour from me when you defeated the Shredder in combat. And so, for fame and glory, I must destroy you in his stead. I challenge you, young warrior, to a duel."

Leo narrowed his eyes. "You picked the wrong time to get on my bad side."

The man reached within his cape and Leo tensed – but he pulled out nothing more lethal than a hand drum, which he rubbed between his hands to create a sound. Immediately it began to glow, transforming into a paddle and floating aside, where another, far stranger looking man appeared, holding the paddle. This man was floating, seated cross legged in mid air, face pure white and painted with red spots. Leo recognised him from lore – a Gyogi.

Leo had no idea what all this was or where it was going – but he didn't like it one bit.

With a wave of the paddle, the odd character summoned a semi-circle of energy, entrapping Leo within. Drawing his katana, he slashed at the prison, to no avail.

"What's with the cage?"

"If you refuse the match, then your life is forfeit," intoned the Gyogi.

"And if you accept and lose, then your life is also forfeit," gloated the purple-caped one.

"You're giving me a choice?" Leo snorted. "There is no _choice_. I accept the challenge!"

"So noted," replied the Gyogi. "Challenge accepted. Duellists, prepare."

"Soon warrior, you shall taste defeat," said the ninja.

"I've tasted defeat before," snarled Leo, eyes narrowed, glaring at the ninja through the transparent prison. "I will _not_ lose again!"

He faced off against the ninja, temporarily forgetting that he was supposed to be going after his brother, that he was supposed to be trying to recover. Before him was a smirking man behind another mask, a smirking visage that taunted him, like the embodiment of all his past failures.

He was not about to fail again.


	4. Losing Control

**Author Note: **Thanks to everyone who reviewed, in spite of FanFic problems!

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

The Gyogi motioned with his drum and before Leonardo's eyes, a puddle of water inexplicably moved across the floor, sliding beneath his feet. He frowned in confusion – and then his eyes widened as he began to sink into the water, as if the concrete that had been there seconds before had vanished.

_Mysticism, some kind of trick..._

"Hey! _Hey!_"

It happened fast. In seconds the water was closing above his head, his arms scrabbling vainly to get a grip, stop his descent...

And a moment later, he was somewhere else.

He blinked, taking in his surroundings. He had been in an alley, closing in on Foot headquarters. Now he was in Central Park. There was no one in sight, no late night walkers, no lurking opportunists, no Gyogi – and no ninja.

But Leo had no doubt that he was around, just waiting for the right moment to strike.

Walking through the park, Leo took in his surroundings. The trees provided plenty of shelter for anyone versed in the art of stealth but he remained as open as he dared. He had no desire to spend all night playing hide and seek with this guy.

_I had travelled to this dimension to battle Oruku Saki – the Shredder. But you stole that honour from me when you defeated the Shredder in combat. And so, for fame and glory, I must destroy you in his stead._

Fame? Glory? Leo snorted. He hadn't battled Shredder for those reasons. He'd done what he had to in order to keep his family safe. If he hadn't defeated the Shredder, they would never have been free, never known when he would catch up to them and strike...

_And you did a great job of protecting Raph, didn't you?_

He clenched his fists and turned, sensing a movement to his right. Nothing in sight – but he knew he hadn't imagined it. Then something else, this time to his left. Still he saw nothing.

The ninja was trying to toy with him, unnerve him, throw him off guard. It wasn't going to work. He was more than ready to take out his frustration and anger on someone, had been ready ever since the night at Foot headquarters and this guy had pissed him off.

Something fluttered to the ground behind him and he glanced down it A piece of cloth, the same colour as the ninjas robe.

_Oh, this guy is really asking for it. Does he think I'm stupid?_

Leo turned his back on the cloth, waiting, listening to his instincts, forcing himself to wait until the ninja had shed whatever mysticism was disguising him and thrown a punch.

Dodging the blow, Leo assumed a defensive stance and for a moment the two stared each other down – then the ninja threw another punch. Leo blocked and hit back with a chop, also blocked. They sparred for a few seconds, equally matched. Then the ninja landed a kick on Leo that knocked him backward. His shell hit a lamp post, denting it.

_Shell, this guy's good..._

_But he's NOT taking me down!_

The ninja pulled out a kusari-gama and hurled the weighted end at Leo, who had just enough time to dodge out of the way before it hit the lamp post behind him, damaging it still further. A second swing of the kusari-gama came moments later but he was ready for this one, pulling out his katana. As the chain wrapped around the blades, he yanked them backward hard, pulling the ninja off his feet. As the man hurled toward him, Leo hit him with a leaping kick that sent him sprawling into a tree.

Casually, Leo used the momentum of his swords to unwind the chain and toss it perfectly into a nearby trash can, readying himself for the next attack.

_I refuse to fail again..._

But the ninja had other ideas, taking off across the park and leaping off a bridge. Giving chase, Leo looked down to see the man had landed on the roof of a truck and was speeding away from him.

Under other circumstances, he might have let it go – but this was a mortal duel, a fight 'til the death. Which meant if he let the the guy leave, he would find himself ambushed later on. Until one of them was dead, the fight was still on.

Besides, a good fight was exactly what Leo needed.

He used the trees by the side of the road to follow the truck, catching it up at a turn and jumping onto the roof, landing in a fighting stance in front of the ninja. The ninja drew his own swords from their sheath and Leo drew up his katana to block the attack.

Evenly matched, the two sparred on the fast-moving vehicle. Every move that Leo made was blocked, every attack was met with a defensive move that prevented him landing a blow on the man. Beginning to lose his cool, he changed tactics, ducking a swing and using a low spinning kick to knock the ninja off his feet. Leaping into the air, he drive his katana down, aiming for a killing blow...

Only to embed his katana into the roof of the truck, the ninja mysteriously disappearing.

"Huh?"

Leo realised the trick a fraction too late. Sensing the guy materialise behind him, just as he had done in the park, he pulled at his katana, stuck in the roof of the truck – but before he could do more, the ninja kicked him, hard. Leo fell from the roof of the truck, slid down the cab and ended up sprawled on the front window, katana still sticking straight up from the roof of the truck, out of reach.

In the cab of the truck, he saw the driver widen his eyes in shock and instinctively wrench on the wheel, slamming on the brakes at the same time. The truck screeched across the street, fighting not to go into a skid. Leo leapt from the cab, rolling as he hit the floor, jumping back up seconds later and staring after the truck in shock, the ninja momentarily forgotten.

The driver managed to get the truck under some semblance of control, but not enough. The truck sideswiped one of the trees at the side of the road and teetered precariously, ready to jack knife...

In a moment of perfect clarity, Leo watched as the truck fought gravity – and finally it came to a stop, the truck body just about staying upright. A moment later, the driver practically fell out of the cab and leant heavily on his truck, looking shaky and nauseous.

Leo let out a breath he hadn't even realised he's been holding. _We could have KILLED that guy!_

And then a kick to the back of his shell knocked him flying and jolted him from his reverie. He landed on his front immediately jumped back up again, leaping into the trees and becoming one with the shadows.

_Time to take this fight somewhere else, before anyone else gets involved... and I'm gonna wipe the floor with that guy._

He ran, keeping hidden. The ninja would find him eventually, but Leo wanted to be well away from anyone who may see them when that happened. Not just because of what had just happened, although that was a large part of it – the near-crash had just proved that it wasn't a good thing to get civilians caught in the middle of a battle. If he was seen and reported, the Foot could be out here after him and he would have no chance to get away if he were fighting for his life against a ninja of this calibre. Especially not alone, after a fight. The last time he had gone up against the Foot alone was still burned into his memory, just another example of how he had failed to protect his family, instead being used as bait to lead them right into a trap from which they had barely escaped with their lives.

_And Mikey's out on the streets somewhere, if they know I'm out here they might find him instead..._

Coming to a more built up area, he saw a building with a flat roof and without pausing, jumped up the fire escape. Not a pleasant area, but quiet at least. Too quiet. This seemed to be gang territory, but if that was the case then where was everyone? There were a few lights within the apartments burning, but the streets themselves were all but deserted.

He got to the roof of the building and waited, tensed for the confrontation. This ended _here_.

A moment later, the ninja appeared in a swirl of colour before him and attacked without hesitation. Leo was knocked aside and the ninja leapt at him, almost a replay of what had happened on the roof of the truck – except that Leo did not have the ability to vanish from the spot. Instead, he saw the ninja aiming his shuko spikes at his face and caught the hand, for a moment feeling a sense of _deja vu_. It was like facing the Shredder once more, in his human suit of armour, the spikes that were a part of the ensemble.

The shuko spikes a mere inch from his beak, he twisted the ninjas arm and threw him over his shoulder, keeping hold of the shuko spikes, leaping to his feet and turning before the other had even hit the ground. Keeping a grip on the modified spikes, he advanced, planning to end it right away but not quite able to bring himself to land the killing blow while the guy was face-down on the rooftop.

His hesitation was rewarded by a faceful of dust, blinding him, invading his throat and nose and making him choke for breath. He stumbled away, knowing that showing mercy had been a mistake that could cost him his life.

_Stupid, stupid..._

He didn't see the ninja leap theatrically from the cloud of dust, but he felt the kicks as they landed on his plastron, driving him backwards. Always aware of his surroundings, he knew he had to be getting close to the end of the building and put on the brakes, blinking rapidly and managing to get just about enough vision to see the shadow flying at him...

A blow from the ninja knocked him off the low rail surrounding the edge of the rooftop and sent him into space.

For a second, all his childhood fears came flooding back and he remembered how terrified he had been at the thought of falling from somewhere high, imagining how he might look when he was found, his shell shattered, bones broken, blood soaking into the asphalt...

And in his mind, the image of him lying there was replaced by that of Raph, who had fallen from at least the same distance he was now plummeting and wondered if he had been having the same thoughts when he realised his fate.

_"NO!"_

His hand was still clutching the shuko spikes in a death grip. Slipping them onto his hand, he slammed them against the wall of the apartment, knowing that if this didn't work he was pavement pizza – and that he would have failed to avenge Raph, find out what had really happened to him and Splinter, failed to find Mikey and explain to him why he had behaved that way, failed to do what he told Donnie he would...

The shuko spikes caught, digging a deep furrow in the side of the building. Leo felt his downward momentum slow and gritted his teeth, trying to keep his head. He finally came to a halt less than a storey above ground level, pausing for a second to take a deep breath and try to control his wildly beating heart before nimbly jumping to the floor.

_That's it. No more hesitation. No more mercy. Either he dies or I do. And I don't plan on it being me._

Leo used the fire escape once more to get to the rooftop, pausing at the top unseen as the ninja, his back to the turtle, celebrated his apparent victory.

"He is finished. I have won! I am the ultimate warrior on this planet! With this victory, my fame and glory grows. Soon, all will know my name – I am the Ultimate Ninja!"

Leo stepped out of the shadows, the shuko spikes still on his hand. "Hang on there. I'm not finished with you yet."

The Ultimate Ninja whirled around, his eyes wide behind the sneering mask. "It – it can't be!"

"It can be. And it is." Stepping out of the shadows, Leo raised the shuko spikes in front of his face, his eyes narrowed, determined this time that the end of the battle was in sight. "Let's you and me finish this. Now."

The ninja leapt at the same time as Leo, the pair heading for a mid-air confrontation – until the ninja unleashed a hail of shuriken before commencing to use the vanishing trick that Leo was already damn sick of. But this time, he was ready for it. He twisted in the air, skillfully dodging the shuriken he was able to and deflecting those he couldn't. One he didn't notice cut a shallow but lengthy gash on his thigh. He barely noticed. He was concentrating on where the next place the ninja would materialise...

_There!_

The second the ninja reappeared, Leo was on him, not giving him the chance to use the trick again. A kick knocked the ninja on his back, losing the mask in the process. He jumped up quickly, but not fast enough to dodge a punch from the turtle.

"Come on!"

It was as if there was a red mist in front of Leo's eyes, through which he would see the ninja but not comprehend the alarm of the other as the blows landed. His enemy was at his mercy, that was all that mattered. And he had no mercy left.

"Fight back!"

Another punch sent the man reeling, barely able to keep his feet. Dropping to a crouch, the ninja drew his swords and slashed at Leo. Leo barely noticed, jumping over the ninja and avoiding the blades, kicking the man in the back and sending him into a sprawled heap on the floor, catching the swords as the ninja lost his grip on them.

"Come on!"

As the ninja rolled over onto his back, ready to counter, he realised the enemy he had actively sought out was standing above him, bearing the ninjas own swords and staring down with fury etched all over his face. There was no compassion in that face, no remorse, no rationality left. There was just cold anger and the blades flashing in the moonlight.

"You lose."

"No! I – I surrender!"

The swords came down.

The ninja cringed and closed his eyes as the blades fell toward him – and then opened them wide as the blades bounced off a forcefield similar to the one he had captured the turtle within prior to their battle. Leonardo's face changed to register his shock at the development, but the ninja didn't move. He hadn't blocked the blows and there was only one other person who could have done so.

Leo turned as he realised there was some one new materialising behind him, the swords he had liberated from the ninja ready to strike should he be attacked. But the newcomer didn't seem interested in fighting. Even the Gyogi seemed shocked at the arrival.

"Your Highness!"

The man was tall, even taller than the ninja, certainly taller than the mutant turtle who cleared five foot by scant inches. His long hair was white and his robes a dark red colour, the mask on his face gold coloured and bearing a countenance that was supposed to appear benevolent, but to Leo it seemed as insufferably smug as that on the mask of the ninja.

_Daimyo_. Leo thought of the honorific, of course he did. As a student of Bushido and with a life-long interest in Japanese culture instilled in him by Oruku Saki, it would have been odd if he hadn't. But there hadn't been any Japanese Daimyo's in over a century. Still, the implication was clear; this man was some kind of powerful feudal ruler.

Leo wasn't impressed. The Daimyo, if that was what he was, had just interrupted a fight that was supposed to be to the death. Another of the ninjas dishonourable tactics? Perhaps.

But the ninja was grovelling at the feet of the newcomer and Leo wondered. If the ninja had summoned the man, why did he appear to be so nervous?

"You have not earned this combat, yet you have the _audacity_ to attempt to make a _name_ for yourself in such a manner!" The mask may be frozen into a single expression, but there was no missing the anger in his voice. The ninja cringed and Leo narrowed his eyes. He didn't care who this man was. Either the duel was over or it wasn't, but he didn't have the patience to stand around here all day while the Daimyo yelled.

"Not only would you disgrace _yourself_ thus, but you would also disgrace _me_, your own father, with your lack of honour!"

Ah, that explained it. Leonardo's own experience of a father-figure came from the Shredder and he'd been bawled out on more than one occasion.

_And what about what Splinter, wasn't he a father-figure to you four?_

He forced that thought away in a hurry.

The Daimyo finally turned to the turtle. "You have fought well."

Leo inclined his head, not quite a bow. He wanted to get all this weirdness behind him.

"But you have not shown honour."

The words cut through Leo like a sword to the heart. Snarling, he tightened his grip on the ninjas swords, still in his possession. "You accuse me of having no honour? Your son just ambushed me, threw me off a building, could have killed that guy in the truck – and _I_ have no honour?"

The Daimyo regarded him impassively. "You could have chosen to show my son mercy, to spare his life. Instead you struck a killing blow."

"The duel was to the death."

"The duel was finished."

Angered, Leo turned his back on the Daimyo. "Whatever. I didn't ask for the fight. And if it's all over, then I have better things to do than stand here all night while you question my honour."

He threw the swords contemptuously aside and headed for the fire escape, intending on heading down and making his way to Foot headquarters, assuming he hadn't already missed Mikey's check on the building with everything that had been going on that night.

"You are the young warrior that slew Oruku Saki."

Slowly, Leo clenched his fists and turned back to the Daimyo. It occurred to him suddenly that the ninja cowering at the feet of his father had said exactly the same thing when they first met. Apparently, everything that had gone on in the skyscraper that night – the night Raph and Splinter had died – was known to these people.

_Are they connected to Karai somehow?_

"How did you know that?"

"We observe much," replied the Daimyo. "The demise of a former Battle Nexus champion is something we note."

Leo raised an eye ridge. "Battle whoziz?"

"Clearly young warrior, there is much we must discuss." The Daimyo gestured to the Gyogi. "Come. We go home."

The Gyogi floated over to the Daimyo and a beam of light emerged from his paddle. Leo realised immediately what was about to happen and felt a flare of anger. "Hey! I didn't sign up for this! You can't just..."

It was no good. A stream of water flowed beneath his feet and once again he sank within its depths and found himself – somewhere else.

_Where_ else he didn't know.

The place was unfamiliar to him in many ways. He had never been there before. Stone pathways and clearings lay surrounded by vegetation he would never even have imagined could exist. And yet there was much that reminded him of Japan; architecture, layout, statues.

_Donnie would love to examine some of the plants around here,_ he thought with a pang of worry. He had to get home to his brothers. What if they thought he too had vanished? What would happen to them then?

He turned to see the Daimyo watching him, the ninja risen to his feet although clearly still in a subservient position to his father. And there was something else in his features, something Leo had seen directed at him before. Hatred, humiliation – and the desire for revenge.

_You want a rematch pal, you got it._

"This is the Battle Nexus," explained the Daimyo. "Here, the greatest fighters from across the multi-verse battle to discover who among them is the greatest."

"Fascinatin'" muttered Leo, echoing a phrase Raph had used often.

"Come, I have something to show you." The Daimyo walked away, followed by the Ultimate Ninja. Leonardo glared at their retreating backs for a moment before realising they were his only way of finding a way home and following.

"This is the Pavilion of past Champions," announced the Daimyo as they entered a long hallway. Leo glanced at the statues lining the hall with mounting interest almost smothering his irritation. There were all manner of strange creatures depicted, alien to him. Having spent most of his life as an outcast to the rest of the planet and discovering his Sensei was an alien made him no less surprised at the oddities that had been previous champions.

And the tournament had to go back _years_, he realised with some unease. Maybe even centuries. There were so many former champions represented.

The Daimyo paused at one statue – a familiar one. Leo narrowed his eyes as he gazed once more at the sight of his former Sensei, Oruku Saki, the Shredder. The thing was solid stone and yet Leo fancied he could still feel the malevolence radiating from the statue.

"Saki had not partaken of the competition for many years before he died at your hand," the Daimyo informed him. "But his skill was formidable, allowing him to remain champion for a long, long time. Longer in fact than any other fighter to compete."

"And the point is?"

The Daimyo's stance didn't change, but Leo could feel his disapproval at the lack of respect. "I would not have thought it possible for one so young to overcome a warrior of such fearsome skill, yet you have managed to do so."

"I wasn't alone when I did it," replied Leo, thinking once more of his brothers.

"The way in which you fight is reminiscent of Saki," added the Daimyo.

Leo let out a deep breath. "Saki trained my brothers and I. If you know already that I killed him, why don't you know that?"

"We do not watch everything that occurs in your world young warrior," said the Daimyo. "We know when a past champion is killed and endeavor to discover who defeated them. A person of such skills may be offered the chance to compete in the Battle Nexus."

"Wait." Leo raised a hand and gave a short, humourless laugh. "You brought me here to ask me to fight in some pointless tournament?"

"No." The Daimyo turned his head toward the ultimate Ninja, who left without another word, although he did manage to shoot a final, poisonous glance at Leo.

The Daimyo waited until he and Leo were alone before continuing. "I brought you here, young warrior, for another reason. Once, many generations ago, we visited your dimension. The people then took us to be Gods, Tengu. But we endowed a chosen few with the first gifts of the art of ninjitsu. That tradition has suffered through some – Oruku Saki is just one. His notions of honour were skewed, benefit only himself. And yet you were different. The first time you could have delivered a fatal strike, you did not."

"I wasn't going to make that mistake twice, remember?"

"Anger, young warrior. It was driving you forward. But our anger is the enemy of the ninja. It defeats caution and wisdom. The Battle Nexus is not only about becoming the champion, but about learning about ones self also. The lengths to which one will go to succeed. If one will sacrifice honour for victory."

Taking another glance at the statue of Saki, Leo snorted. "And you want to tell me this because you did such a great job of instilling a sense of honour in your own son?"

"I want to tell you this because a warrior without honour is no warrior at all. And because I saw you battle with your honour as you fought my son – and honour lost. Maybe it is time you faced your worst enemy, before your honour is wholly consumed."

"I'll face her all right," snarled Leo, his face darkening. "And when I do..."

He glanced off to one side, the other side of the hall to the Shredder's statue – right then, he couldn't face another look at the man he had once called his father – and felt his eyes widen. There was another statue further on that looked familiar. Near the end of the hall, making it a relatively recent addition to the Pavilion, if Leo deduced correctly.

_"Hamato Yoshi!?"_

"Yes, Hamato Yoshi," confirmed the Daimyo as the pair went over to the statue. "The only winner of the Battle Nexus to come from your dimension, although Oruku Saki claimed residence there. How do you know of him? He was killed many years ago, more years past than your tender age can claim."

"The Shredder killed him."

"I am aware of this."

"Do you know if he had a – well, a pet?"

"You must mean the rat he brought to the tournament with him," replied the Daimyo. Leo could hear the fondness in the reminisce. Veracity, if indeed veracity were needed, that Splinter had told them the truth all along.

"When we were mutated, it was Splinter, Hamato Yoshi's rat, who found us. He was mutated too and looked after us, until the Shredder took us away from him. Splinter always said, a true warrior finds balance in all things, that honour was the most important thing that we could learn from Bushido..."

He stared at the statue a few moments, amazed that Splinter had never mentioned this before. Of course, they hadn't had much time with the rat and may have doubted him if he'd started rambling about other dimensions and alien fighting tournaments – but still, this was huge.

The Daimyo intruded on his thoughts. "You shall be shown the means by which you may again enter the Battle Nexus. Perhaps when the next tournament begins, you shall attempt to qualify. Then you may return to your own dimension."

"Yeah, great," replied Leo absently as he followed the Daimyo out of the Pavilion of Past Champions. He was still thinking.

The chalk marks and chants took Leo a while to learn and by the time he had them memorised, he was beginning to worry all over again. Back in New York, it was probably close to daybreak. Donnie would be going frantic.

And he was getting a really bad feeling, like something had happened in his absence. The emotion built up gradually and he tried to push it aside, sure it was his need to protect the family that was making him so worried to be away for so many hours – but it refused to leave him alone.

_I'll be home in a while and find Don ready to skin me alive and Mikey probably trying not to be relieved because he's still pissed at me._

The Daimyo was there to return him home, explaining that the incantation would not return him there but only return him to the Nexus. The Gyogi floated beside him. The Ultimate Ninja was nowhere in sight.

Leo took a breath, not feeling comfortable about what he felt he should say. "Daimyo, thank you for preventing me delivering the final strike."

"Truthfully, it was not for your sake young warrior." The Daimyo's voice became soft. "My son is all that I have. If something were to happen to him..."

_My family is all that I have_ thought Leo and that nervous, scared feeling welled up inside him again.

"Daimyo? I need to ask... " Leo wondered exactly how to address someone of his standing. "I wanted to speak to my brother Michelangelo before we returned home – there was something I needed to say to him. Can the Gyogi find him?"

The Daimyo was momentarily silent, evidently not used to such forthright questions, then gestured to the Gyogi. "So be it."

The Gyogi moved his paddle over the ground and water seemed to rise from within the earth and rise, forming a sphere.

"Here is the one you seek."

A few minutes later, Leo was back on the streets of New York, feet pounding the pavement, shell-cell clamped firmly to his ear.

"Pick up Donnie, come on, pick _up_..."

"Leo?" Donnie sounded confused.

"Don, I need some stuff from the lair, right away!"

"I'm not _in_ the lair, I'm on the shell-cycle."

"Shit!"

_"Leo?"_

"I need you to get over here right now!"

"No problem, I can track the signal from your shell-cell." Don's voice was filled with concern. "What's happening? Is something..."

Leo terminated the call without replying. There would be time later on for explanations. Right now he had to get to Mikey.

Before it was too late.


	5. Moving Into The Streets

Michelangelo was rapidly learning that damaging the interests of the Foot and the Purple Dragons was not as satisfying as he had hoped it would be. So they busted Purple Dragon heads, hurt Karai's business interests. So what? Raph was still missing, the Foot had yet to make an appearance and he was no closer to discovering where the hell they had taken his brother.

If his brother was still alive...

The Mob were pleased, of course. They had rapidly broken ahead in the gang wars that had plagued the city, thanks to Mikey. He found it hard to care. The only reason he had got involved in the war was to draw out the Foot, find Raph – and in spite of his best efforts, the Foot hadn't come out of hiding.

But hopefully, that would change tonight.

The plan was simple; they would hit one of Karai's biggest interests, a laboratory specialising in genetics. The lab made a lot of money thanks to a range of skincare products they had perfected and was respected in the field of cellular regeneration due to some major breakthroughs in the field. Donnie had occasionally checked out their work, as had Stockman, but both preferred to work in engineering.

No one was going to be working in this building for a long time, if Mikey had his way. He intended to have the Mob torch the building, ransack it, steal research. A real setback for the company and bound to cause some major money loss, not to mention being a blow to shareholder confidence. It may have been a desperate gambit, but it was all he had left. The building was on Foot clan turf and directly affected them. If nothing else had drawn the ninjas out of hiding, this should. And the Mob would be only too pleased to prove their superiority in such a manner.

Mikey met up with the Mob several blocks away from the lab, running late thanks to his confrontation with Leo. He was not in any kind of mood to be messed with, which must have showed on his face because The Boss didn't even try to make small talk or grumble about being kept waiting.

"Let's get this over with," growled Mikey. He was still pissed at Leo, but in spite of that he felt a frisson of hope. Maybe this would be the night that the Foot came out of hiding and he could beat the information of Raph's whereabouts out of one of them.

The Boss never got his hands dirty in these missions, remaining in the car. Weasel was in charge of the operation, although Mikey was providing most of the information. He knew little about the layout of the place, but he was ninja and knew enough about the way most of Karai's security worked.

"We've got maybe five minutes, max," he said to Weasel in a low voice. "There's no way we can get through all the security, not you guys anyway. It's gonna be noisy and high profile, especially in this neighbourhood. Blast the place and book."

"We get it already," said Weasel in a slightly bored voice. "Be right back."

Mikey nodded and leapt into the shadows. He had no desire to get personally involved with the Mobs plans, even if he was instigating them. The thought of attracting so much attention went totally against all he had been taught as a ninja. Besides, he wanted to be watching in case the first people attracted were the Foot. He had to be ready for them.

He found a ledge high up, opposite the lab, where he was totally concealed in shadow. From his vantage point, he could make out the Mob creeping up on the building. He rolled his eyes. Stealth was _not_ one of their strengths, although to be fair, it didn't look like anyone would see them unless they were looking for them...

And apparently, someone had been.

From the shadows beside the building, Mikey suddenly saw a movement. He had seen nothing there a moment ago – which could mean only one thing. Ninja.

_The Foot!_

Before he could do so much as move, there were some muted sounds and with dim horror realised that the Mob had been taken entirely by surprise, probably already in a fight for their lives. He hadn't liked any of the Mobsters particularly, but nor had he intended to lead them to their deaths.

_It might not be too late..._

Even as Mikey leapt from the building from an inadvisably high drop, he heard the sound of retaliation from the Mob, their own weapons running more to guns than to the traditional, but at a disadvantage even so thanks to the time that the Foot spent training to deal with situations just such as this one. On a night with this kind of work ahead of them, they had chosen to fit their hand weapons with silencers, but they were still bound to attract attention. And there were the big guns that would no doubt make an appearance as soon as the Mob put out the word about the ambush to their minions laying wait just in case.

For a split second, Mikey hesitated. The smart thing to do would be to lie in wait and follow the Foot once the fight was over and done with. Win or lose, the ninjas were likely to fade into the shadows once the fight was done with rather than take heavy casualties, particularly with the attention that must have already been drawn to the scene. Even in this neighbourhood, far away from the residential parts of the city, there would be people around to observe something strange occurring.

But there was no way he could do it. That would be to behave the way that the Shredder had raised him to behave, to forget about the lives and well being of others to further his own intentions. The Mobsters were far from innocents, but that didn't mean he should leave them to get slaughtered by the Foot. And he _knew_ the Foot. With the element of surprise on their side, they would do the maximum amount of damage as swiftly as possible and fade away.

Mind made up, he headed into the fray.

Close up, still unseen thanks to his years of ninja training, he could see he had been right in his assessment. The Foot were hidden in the shadows, unseen until maybe a second or so before they struck. The Mobsters relied entirely on the guns, swinging the weapons wildly about and hoping to hit something more by dumb luck than skill. In a firefight, they would easily be able to overcome the odds – but against the Foot? They couldn't even see who they were aiming at, meaning that they were at a disadvantage.

Weasel was yelling into a radio as Mikey got there, firing his gun the whole time. There was no way the backup could hear over the sound, but the message would no doubt be relayed anyway. Meaning Mikey had seconds to take down the Foot before the whole thing got out of control.

He'd fought the Foot before, but never alone, without his brothers by his side. He doubted the mobsters would make up for the lack.

Drawing his nunchucks, he let instinct take over. Years of training came to his aid as he leapt from the shadows, skillfully avoiding the bullets fired by the Mobsters who were supposed to be on _his_ side, landing a kick on an unsuspecting Foot ninja. Before the others could register what the hell had happened, he brought his nunchaku around to catch two more in the heads, jumping out of the way before the ninja could attack. But he knew he couldn't use the element of surprise any longer. From now, his best chance was speed, shadow and the distraction provided by the shots of the Mobsters.

Four Foot ninja went straight for him, the others trying to hit the Mobsters with some success. Mikey took them down with ease. This was it, what he had been waiting for. Them knowing he was here was something he had hoped to avoid, but there was still a good chance he could track them. Surely it wouldn't be long before the cops forced them all to scatter...

And then there was a whistling noise and rubble showered around the alley. Mikey dived for cover, as did most of the Foot. The Mob's backup had arrived and evidently, they were packing some _serious _heat. that should make the cops hurry and then Mikey could stalk the Foot as they made their escape and returned to Karai to give the rundown of what had happened.

_And then I can force that bitch to tell me where my brother is._

As Mikey ducked further into the darkness and hoped the Foot would assume him long gone, a ninja sprang out of the shadows, looking from the smouldering patch that the Mobster had blown in the side of the building to the Mobsters, who wore identical grins, assuming that the tide had turned in their direction.

"Exterminate these _insects_."

"Exterminate _us_? _We'll _exterminate _you_! Let 'em have it boys!" Weasel opened fire on the ninja, who vaulted aside.

_Where are the damn cops _wondered Mikey as a second whistle sounded and he ducked his head back out of sight just as another blast lit up the alley. This one continued to flame even after the initial hit, the side of the lab exposed thanks to the hole blown in it, the alarms wailing.

And finally a spotlight flooded the alley. Mikey pulled further back, thankful of the distraction. Caught in the light, the battling gangs looked into the air.

_"This is the police! Freeze! Drop your weapons!"_

As one, the Foot and the mobsters scattered. The Mobsters ran to the end of the alley, hoping to get to the vehicles that had brought them there. The Foot chose the rooftops, jumping nimbly up surrounding fire escapes and using ledges and windows to pull themselves up. Mikey knew it wouldn't be too simple for them to escape the helicopter and hopefully they'd be too busy trying to get away to remember him.

And that would give him the chance to follow them. Assuming he too could keep out of sight of the copters light.

The copter hovered in place for a moment longer, then three squad cars pulled up at the mouth of the alley. Apparently deciding that the ground teams could take care of the Mob, the copter chose to go after the Foot. As soon as the light swept away, Mikey was up the fire escape and after the ninjas.

In spite of the floodlight, the copter wasn't able to keep the Foot in sight. They dropped into another alley, ducked out of sight as the copter passed, then doubled back. Mikey ducked behind a chimney as the gang stealthily made their way across the rooftops, changing direction and hurrying away from the action.

_I wonder if the Mobsters escaped_ thought Mikey as he followed. None of the Foot looked behind them to see if they were alone on the rooftops and even if they had, Mikey was keeping out of sight. There was no way he was losing the Foot now, not when he was so close to finding out where they were hiding out. If he could find out where Karai was, so much the better. If the odds looked too long, he might have to involve Leo and Don – but at least that would give him the chance to prove to Leo that he had been wrong, that looking for the Foot clan was the right thing to do all along...

And where the hell were they going?

Mikey frowned. The Foot were leading him away from the areas he had been searching for them in, toward the business areas. But that didn't make any sense. Karai may be a rich businesswoman and easily able to afford property in the area – but it was off Foot clan turf, far even from the Dragons areas. A group of renegade ninjas would have no reason to use the borough as base. Even Foot headquarters, doubling as Saki enterprises, had been right on the verge of the area rather than at the centre of activity.

_Unless there's some other reason for them coming here – maybe to report to Karai? She'd want to know what happened tonight._

That made no sense either. Karai would find it easier to go to the Foot rather than have them come to her. Or she could use a cell or web-cast to gain the details, have some of her more trusted ninja act as go-betweens.

_So there must be some other reason for them coming all the way out here – like..._

He heard something on the rooftop behind him and turned, but saw nothing. There was no sign that he was being followed.

The kick came from literally nowhere, knocking him onto his shell. He rolled over and jumped back to his feet, hands falling automatically to the nunchaku in his belt. But there was still nothing to see.

_Foot Tech ninja!_

A blow from behind sent him stumbling forward, another kick to his hand almost dislodging his weapon. Tightening his grip, Mikey recovered his balance and leapt aside, landing to one side and trying to work out where the ninjas were. The night was cool and clear. What he wouldn't have given for a coating of snow.

Sensing some one approach, he darted out of the way before a blow could land on him, noticing that the Foot ninjas he had been following had stopped running and were now watching the action. Resignedly, he realised that they must have somehow discovered or worked out that he was working with the Mob and decided to lead him into a trap.

_How did they know I'd be alone?_

Maybe they hadn't known. Even now, there could be the entire clan hidden nearby in case the other two showed up. Until they were sure, the Foot Tech would continue to toy with him.

_Not if I don't let them._

He recalled Splinter's teachings while they had been at the farmhouse, how he had encouraged them to use more senses than sight to block attack. All ninja were masters of deception and with the Foot Techs well known to them, it was sensible training. Mikey took a deep breath and closed his eyes. His other senses compensated and he heard the footsteps, light and rapid, approaching to his left. Jumping, he delivered a devastating kick that he felt connect. The ninja would certainly have felt it. Mikey heard the sound of a body hit the floor as he landed, the noise almost blocking out the slight crunch as unseen feet landed on the rooftop directly behind him. Almost, but not quite. Mikey didn't even turn, merely drove his fist back over his shoulder, feeling bone break beneath his knuckles.

_Swish..._

He ducked and felt the wind above his head as the sword passed at what had previously been shoulder height. As he ducked, he went into a sweeping kick that knocked the sword-wielder down.

And then a stinging pain in his arm made him open his eyes in startlement. A shuriken, thrown from some distance, cutting a long gash in his skin. Angered, he looked around but still saw nothing but the rooftops. And then more shuriken flew at him and he dived out of the way, noting from where they originated and going into a flying leap, connecting with something solid.

The ninja became visible as he slammed onto the concrete. Mikey glanced around at the four now-visible ninja and snorted.

"That the best you guys can do?"

In response, the ninjas he had been chasing attacked.

_Finally_ thought Mikey, surprised to find himself grimly pleased by the situation. Ever since Raphael had vanished, there had been no one to take out his frustrations on save for his brothers and no one to fight except a few Purple Dragons who had barely been a threat. And now the enemy were in front of him, he was _not_ going to go easy on them.

Like a turtle possessed, he whirled his nunchaku and laid out ninja left and right, barely noticing the few glancing wounds he received. He noticed there were more ninjas to fight now than there had been when he had followed them, rather proving his theory about the others lying in wait for him – but he didn't care. The more, the better. He would put down every one of them if he had to, if that was what it took to find out where Karai was keeping his brother.

The more rational side of him realised he was surrounded. Even if he had wanted to put some distance between himself and the Foot he would have been unable to, being forced to fight his way out. The wild, exhilarated part of him found that idea just fine. Much like Leonardo, he had been craving a reason to let loose and he felt no reason to be merciful towards these bastards. They were no longer his family.

A ninja leapt at him, driving a sword down. Mike used the chain of his chucks to block and kicked the guy in the guy in the guts, barely needing to put force in the blow since the ninjas own downward momentum did the work for him. The sword skittered away, only for another ninja to pick it up and run at his back. Mikey jumped aside at the very last second, punching the ninja in the back of the head and making him fall into another Foot ninja, cutting a good length of skin in the others thigh. Before either could recover, they both received shots to the head with the nunchaku, Mikey not even pausing to ensure they were down before lashing out at another.

The mass attack was actually working in his favour to some degree, as the ninja were unable to get to him as well as they would like without hitting a member of their own clan. But only one of them had to be lucky.

Mikey didn't care. There was nothing that was going to keep him from winning this battle.

The ranks of the Foot ninja thinned, Mikey realised he had taken some damage without even noticing, so fuelled on adrenalin had he been. He took stock as he took out the last few ninjas with painful kicks and lethal shots from the nunchaku. Cuts and bruises for the most part, nothing too major – although he _was_ tiring now. Much as he had wanted the battle and had thrown himself into it, there had still been a lot of them to take on.

_And that's how they got Leo that time_, he thought, suddenly not as happy with his victory as he had been. _They just wore him down and went in for the kill. It took a long time because he was trying to get away from them, but they did it in the end. _

Tough rocks, as Raph had been fond of saying when they were mere toddler turtles. If there were more, there were more. He could make his escape if he needed to – but there was something else he needed more than to get away.

Looking around, he saw the most lucid ninja and strode over, grabbing him by the front of the hateful Foot dogi and pulling him up until they were nose to beak.

"Where's Raph?"

The ninja narrowed his eyes at the turtle and failed to reply.

_"Where's Raph?"_

The ninja made a sound that could have been a snort. Mikey shook him hard, gratified to hear a groan from the already injured man.

"Fine, I'll make this _real_ easy for you. Where can I find Karai?"

"I am over here Michelangelo."

Mikey released the Foot ninja and turned hurriedly. There was some one in the shadows, hiding in the darkness provided by the water tower atop the building. Mikey scowled. The voice had been Karai's, no doubt about that, but the silhouette looked all wrong. It looked a lot more like...

"Taken on the costume of dear old Daddy, huh?"

"You would be wise to lose your flippant ways."

Karai emerged, the Shredder's armour glinting in the meagre light. The helmet blocked her features, for which Mikey was sorry. He would have liked to see the look in her eyes as he defeated her, to know if there was some further treachery she had planned. But then, she always had been inscrutable. Maybe this way was better. It would remind him that they were now and forever on opposite sides.

"What did you do with Raph?"

When Karai replied, she sounded like she might be smirking. "Yes, Raphael. Bleeding so badly when I found him on the helipad. Tried to use his shell to block his fall and the rats. But from that height..." There was the merest suggestion of a shrug. "It was a mess."

Mikey knew she was trying to goad him into attack, but he still barely restrained the impulse to fly at the bitch with his weapons whirling. "Where is he?"

"How do you know if he's alive?"

"I know. Where is he?"

"Was that the reason behind your oh-so-obvious campaign against the Foot? To locate your brother?"

"Where. Is. _Raph_?"

Mikey gripped his nunchaku tighter, knowing that if she refused to answer him this time he would attack. His entire mind was focused on Karai, the Foot ninja battered and bleeding around him forgotten. All he wanted was the answer...

"Behind you."

Her words were so out of place that Mikey momentarily didn't register them – and then he managed to half-turn before a foot landed in his side, catching him in the gap between shell and plastron. The breath whooshed out of him and he fell to the ground, ready to spring to his feet in spite of his breathlessness and the pain at being hit where he was most vulnerable.

And stopped when he realised who his attacker was.

_"R-Raphael?"_

The attacker stepped out of the shadows. A little over five feet tall, teeth glinting in a pitiless smirk. There were scars decorating the body, but that was wrong. They looked like they had been there for years rather than a matter of weeks.

A sun and moon dagger reflected the light as his brother pulled it from his belt.

"Raph..." Mikey's voice was barely a whisper as he stared at the turtle. Then he jumped up and looked over his shoulder at Karai, who hadn't moved. _"What did you DO to him?"_

"Saved his life," replied Karai dismissively. The Foot ninja able to get up did so, but rather than attack en masse while Mikey was frozen, they left the scene. Mike didn't notice.

Mikey looked back at Raphael, realising that there was something wrong with his brothers eyes. Usually the pupils were a deep brown – but now the entire orbs seemed to gleam red. In spite of that, he could sense them focused upon him.

"Raph..." Mikey stared back imploringly. "She's done something to you. She's messing with your head. You hate the Foot and you _especially _hate Karai! She tried to kill all of us, the others thought she did kill you, and Splinter. Fight back!"

"Raphael." Karai's voice was cold, but there was no mistaking the satisfaction in her tone. "Dispose of this freak. Now."

Raph took a step forward, head lowered but staring at Mike through those red-glowing eyes. Then a grin broke out across his face and without warning, he leapt at Mike. Mike barely had the chance to move aside as Raph drove a hard kick at his plastron. Mikey spun to face his brother, eyes wide, still not going for his own weapons.

_He's not messing around, not holding back like he does when we spar... he really means it. I don't know if he recognises me, but he really means to KILL me!_

"Raph, it's me! Mikey!"

Raph dove forward, fists raised. Mike dodged the blows, being forced backwards. "Stop that! Don't you remember? It's me, Michelangelo, your brother!"

Mikey would have continued, but he dodged a punch too slow and Raph's fist caught him at the side of the head. Mikey saw stars and fell back further, desperately trying to work out what his next move should be.

_I don't want to hurt him, but he won't stop and listen to me... what can I do?_

Jumping aside as Raph tried to follow up the punch with a high kick, he tried again. "You don't wanna hurt me Raph – I don't wanna fight you!"

In response, Raph leapt at him. Mikey vaulted backward out of his brothers reach and narrowed his eyes.

_I have to get him to listen to me – incapacitate him somehow. If I can knock him out gently, I can get him back to the lair or something..._

Which raised immediate problems. How to 'gently' knock someone out and how to lug an unconscious turtle back through the sewers without Karai seeing them escape.

Pulling out his nunchaku, he blocked a lunge from Raph and aimed for his brothers head. Raph ducked and a sweeping kick knocked Mike off his feet. For a second Mike froze, then rolled aside as Raph took out his single sun and moon dagger and drove it at his face. The dagger dinged off the rooftop and Mike jumped up and fetched Raph a kick in the shell that sent him sprawling. Quickly, Raph regained his feet and went back after Mikey, who tried desperately to block without hurting his brother too much.

Raphael made no such concessions.

His attacks were direct and brutal, forcing Mikey to block and fall back. Mike's own attacks were far more cautious, trying to force a submission without actually doing any damage. But he had to up his own attacks as a slash with the sun and moon dagger laid his already scarred face open and he felt blood coursing down his cheek.

_We can worry about how he is after I get him away from Karai, but I need to stop him fighting me..._

Fighting back, Mikey unleashed a barrage of nunchaku blows on Raph's torso. Raph's glowing eyes narrowed in fury and he tried to block the blows, taking several steps back. Encouraged, Mikey leapt into the air, a spinning kick knocking Raph onto his shell.

_"Get him!" _howled Karai furiously.

Mikey didn't bother to reply, determined not to let Raph get the upper hand again. As his brother got to his feet, Mikey slammed a nunchaku into his plastron and jumped aside. Raph ran at him, snarling in rage. At the last possible second, Mikey vaulted over his brothers head and delivered a perfect blow with his nunchuck that bounced off the back of Raph's skull. Not as hard as he could swing, but at the back of his mind he was still scared of doing irreparable damage. Raph fell heavily, landing in a dazed heap on the floor, the sun and moon dagger falling to the rooftop beside him. The night was still dark, but the crazy patterns that comprised his shell were obvious, like a broken pane, badly repaired, the pieces in place but inexpertly stuck together.

Mikey approached cautiously as Raph rolled onto his shell and moaned, his hand going to his injured head. His eyes were squeezed closed and his face was a grimace of pain.

"Raph?"

_Oh no, please don't tell me I hurt him too badly..._

In one fluid movement, Raph opened his eyes, snatched up the sun and moon dagger and jumped up, barrelling forward at Mikey, who was taken totally by surprise. He just about had time to raise his arm to protect his face when Raph brought the weapon in a downward arc, slicing through the skin and muscle of Michelangelo's left arm. It ground against the bone and stuck there.

A blaze of agony went through Mikey, like nothing he had ever felt before. Blood flooded from the wound and Mikey's vision started to grey out, Raph's grinning face blurring at the edges.

Weakly, Mikey staggered away from his brother and took a few steps toward the fire escape, collapsing to his knees at the edge of the roof.

_I'm gonna bleed to death here, Raph help me..._

He didn't hear the approach, but he felt the blow to the back of his head that knocked him forward, his body hitting nothing but air.

And then he was falling. Just as Raph had.

He was too weak and hurt to try to break his fall, letting gravity do what it would. And in truth, knowing who had done this to him, he wasn't sure if he cared how hard he hit the ground.

Instead he hit the edge of the fire escape, knocking him at an angle and slowing his descent a little. There was a dumpster beside the building and he hit it, feeling something in his leg twist with what would have been a great deal of pain had he not been more concerned with his arm, bouncing from the dumpster lid and coming to a final, jarring landing on a pile of garbage that someone had left beside the dumpster rather than within it.

High above, Karai joined Raphael as he stared after the turtle he had just knocked from the building. His face was impassive now that his job was done, the lack of emotions there a stark contrast to his usual demeanour.

"Leave him."

Raph glanced at Karai questioningly.

"There is no way for the other two to find him before he bleeds to death from that injury. It will take time and he shall be aware through most of it. I want him to suffer. And so do you."

Raph inclined his head and turned from the edge of the building, following Karai as she faded into the shadows.

Down below, Mikey was struggling to hold onto conscious thought. He knew he was hurt badly, how badly he couldn't know – but he couldn't move, too tired, too weak. He had left his shell-cell in the lair as he had taken to doing since he had decided to search for Raph solo. He wouldn't be missed until daylight. Rescue might be a long time coming.

Or it might not come at all.

_Gotta do something..._

He reached for his belt, untying the knot on his belt with his right hand, the arm that still worked. It seemed to take an unimaginably long time. Once it was free, he pulled it from his waist and knotted it around his arm as tightly as he could manage, above the wound that still bled freely, but below his elbow. As a tourniquet, it wasn't too bad – but Mikey knew enough to realise it was only a temporary measure. If no one found him, he would die.

_I have to live long enough to tell them,_ he thought hazily, staring up at the sky, past the building he had just been knocked off by the brother he had been so desperate to find. _I have to tell them that Raph's still alive, that I really did find him. And to warn them..._

The dark seemed to be getting even darker and Mikey fought against it, knowing he was on the verge of unconsciousness. If he blacked out, he might never be able to tell Leo and Donnie what they needed to know.

_I have to warn Leo and Don that Donnie might have been right all along... maybe Raph really is gone._

His vision went black and consciousness left him. In spite of his struggles, Mike was unable to prevent his mind from being carried into darkness.

The alley he had fallen into was silent. Beneath the fallen turtle, blood dripped steadily, running over the trash bags he had landed on and onto the dirty floor.

Nothing moved for a long time.

_&&&&&&&_

**Author Note: **I promise, this is the last cliffie for a while!


	6. The Hands We're Given

**Author Note: **Thanks as always to those who reviewed the last chapter! And many thanks for those who voted for me in the fanfiction awards. I got a first place in Best Happy Ending for One Moment among other things and this li'l trilogy was placed second in the Best Series category. So SS is now all bouncy and happy. Thank you all!

_**&&&&&&&&&&&& **_

Leonardo raced to the alley he had seen within the Gyogi's sphere, his heart pounding wildly, keeping a close watch for any enemies – but the whole area seemed steeped in silence. To early for much traffic, too far away from the fun spots for party animals, too far from gang turf to be a place for idle crimes. Using the rooftops, he leapt from building to building, faster than he had ever moved in his life before.

Something caught his eye. A pair of fallen nunchaku, bright orange band wrapped around them. He should recognise them. He and two of his brothers had toiled over them, the band being April's idea and the three turtles reluctantly going along with it. Mikey had never removed the bands and had never been without the chucks since the day his brothers had gifted them to him.

Which meant that the image he had seen, of Mikey lying in an alley, had not been the result of some careless accident on his part. Something had happened.

Leo picked up the nunchaku and tucked them into his belt before he used the fire escape that Mikey's shell had landed against some two hours previously to make his way into the alley. The building wasn't as high as some – the one he had fallen from earlier that night for example – but it could still cause injury or death to land from such a height.

In the distance, he heard the sound of a motorcycle.

Landing in the alley, Leo raced for the dumpster, barely daring to take a look behind. He knew whom he would find there, but he had not been able to tell much from the image the Gyogi showed him, save that Mikey was hurt. Or worse.

Mikey lay on the pile of trash bags, one hand resting on his plastron. There was a nasty gash on his face that had long since stopped bleeding and was encrusted with dried blood. But in spite of the gloom, Leo could see still more. Spatters up the wall, drying to a dark maroon colour, presumably splattered there as he fell. Dark puddles on the floor, enough to make Leo sick. It couldn't all have come from that cut on his face, no matter how much it had bled.

"Mikey?"

Taking a step closer, Leo had a better view of his brother – and his injuries.

_"Mikey!"_

Mikey's left arm was sprawled out across another trash bag, his belt tied around it just below the elbow. The arm itself was a mess of purpling flesh, covered in gore. Something, some weapon, was buried deep within a wound, which still had some sluggish trickles of blood coming from it.

_"NO!"_

Leo sprinted to Mikey; unmindful of the refuse he lay upon. He grabbed Mike, slipping his arm beneath his brother's neck and cradling his head, wanting a response, _any_ response. Anything to let him know Mikey was still alive.

Mikey's head lolled, not responding to Leo's touch. But Leo detected the faintest signs of breath coming from his torn-open mouth. Taking Mikey's uninjured arm, he felt for a pulse with trembling fingers. There it was – but faint and slow.

"Mikey? Mikey! Wake up! You have to wake up and talk to me!"

There was no response.

Leo pressed his lips together to stop them shaking, his vision shimmering as tears started in his eyes. "Mike? Please be OK. Please. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean what I said, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have thrown my sword at you, please wake up... Please! I won't order you around any more, just be OK! Mikey? Talk to me!"

The engine got louder and then stopped. A few seconds later, he heard Donnie's horrified exclamation.

_"Mikey! _Leo, what _happened_?"

"I don't know – someone hurt him..."

Don fell to his knees beside Leo and looked down at Mikey's battered body, a distinctly sick expression on his face. "I don't – I don't know where to start! I don't know how to ... "

Mikey interrupted, taking a gasping, pained breath before returning to his silent state.

Don frowned, letting his calm side take over. "We need to get him to April's. It's closer than the lair and I'll need her help. I can't get him on the cycle, we have to steal a car, can you find - "

"No, wait. I know somewhere better, somewhere they might be able to help him."

Not wanting to, Leo let Mikey's head rest against the trash bags again, grabbing in his belt for the chalk he had inadvertently taken when he had practised opening the gateway to the Nexus, chalking the symbols on the wall beside them as quickly as he could.

_If I hadn't got into that fight with the Ultimate Ninja, maybe I could have been here to help – no, I wouldn't have found him all the way out here and I wouldn't know how to get him there. I should be grateful to him..._

Muttering the chants he had been taught in a voice that wavered, Leo briefly wondered if Donnie thought he'd gone mad. Any thoughts that Donnie may have had on the subject were changed when the portal opened in a stream of blue light.

Don gaped. "What the _shell_..."

"Go through, quick." Leo went over and picked up Mikey, trying to keep the injured arm raised and still. He didn't like the way it looked. The skin there was the wrong colour, not green and healthy but pale and weakened. The weapon he had barely bothered to look at was still impaled there. It didn't matter what had caused the damage right now – but if he were to remove it, the bleeding would start again, faster this time without the weapon to block the flow.

Mikey didn't look as if he could survive through more blood loss. Leo wasn't sure that Mikey could survive through the injuries he already had.

Leo watched Don go through the portal and with a quick prayer to whatever higher powers watched over mutant turtles, followed.

Any other time, Don might have gaped at the sight before him – the Battle Nexus in all its strange glory. But his mind couldn't be further from the place. All his attention was on Mikey.

Leo looked around. _"Gyogi! Daimyo!"_

It was mere seconds until the Gyogi appeared in the traditional bubble, not seeming surprised to see them – but then, he had been the one to show Leo where Mikey could be found. He waved his paddle and a second later; Leo, Donnie and Mikey were being lowered into the puddle. Leo was almost used to the sensation and Mikey wasn't aware of anything, but Donnie was startled.

"What's going on?"

"It's OK Donnie. Nothing to worry about."

Donnie didn't look too sure about that, but it was too late to do anything. A moment later, the three turtles were totally submerged, ending up somewhere else. The room was unfamiliar to Leo, the layout similar to the Pavilion of Past Champions but rather than statues, there were beds laid out on the floor. Obviously some kind of medical facility, although neither turtle could see any of the machines they associated with healing.

The Daimyo was waiting there already, with two other figures. Obviously, he had anticipated Leo's return with his brother.

"Healers! Attend to him!"

Leo stepped forward and deposited Mikey onto the nearest futon, clenching and unclenching his fists as the two healers attended to him. He wasn't sure that he had done the right thing. There were no machines, no obvious medical equipment – how did they intend to do anything?

"Come, young warrior," said the Daimyo, trying to usher Leo and Donnie from the room.

"_No_," replied Leo forcefully. "I will _not_ leave Mikey!"

"We don't have to leave," said Donnie, his own face pale and thoughtful. "But we need to hang back and let them get on with it."

For a moment, it looked as if Leo would argue – then his shoulders slumped and he allowed Don to lead him to the other end of the room. They could still see the healers attending to Mikey, but it was hard to make out what they were actually doing. One thing was sure; they were moving rapidly and efficiently, which made Leo feel a little better.

"Leo..." Don pitched his voice low. "What's been happening?"

Briefly, Leo filled Donnie in on the events of the evening – his fight against the ultimate Ninja and the Gyogi showing him where Mikey was.

"But I don't know what happened to Mikey," he added, voice tinged with frustration. "When the Gyogi showed me where he was, he was already like that."

Donnie was quiet for a moment. "I heard something on the police radio," he said reluctantly. "There was some kind of big gang fight not too far from there. The Mob and the Foot by the sound."

"The_ Foot_?"

"I don't know for sure, they caught all the Mob guys but the others got away," replied Donnie. "Sounded like the Foot though – made off across the rooftops."

Leo nodded slowly. "Think Mikey found them?"

"I'd bet on it." Don glanced down at his hands and sighed. "Leo, I – I think Mikey's gonna lose that arm."

"Lose it?" For a second Leo didn't understand what Don could be talking about. "What do you mean, lose it?"

"I mean, it was _dead_. The tourniquet around it cut off the blood supply. It stopped him from bleeding to death, but without blood going into the limb, the nerve endings die. Tying the belt around his arm saved his life, but I don't think anything your mystical pals have got is gonna save his arm."

"But... doesn't that take a couple of hours?"

"Yeah. At least."

Leo buried his head in his hands. "This _can't _be happening!"

Donnie patted his shell tentatively, although he was sick with worry himself. He hadn't wanted to say so, but losing his arm could be the least of Mikey's problems. He had lost a massive amount of blood and even the tourniquet might not have been enough. Not to mention that he had been lying on a filthy pile of garbage for hours.

There was still a good chance that Mikey wouldn't live.

Leo raised his head, his eyes narrowed, his mouth pulled up in a ferocious snarl. "I swear, I am gonna find the person who did this to Mikey and I'm going to make them _pay_."

Don nodded, his expression dark. "Amen to that bro. I'm _through _with the Foot screwing with our family. We take them _down_."

And then there was nothing to do but wait.

Donnie leant against the wall, spinning the sun and moon dagger that Raph had left behind around his finger, just as his brother had done so often. He had always been patient, a necessary trait in a scientist, but right then, he would have done anything to know how things would turn out. The healers still attended to Mikey, but there had been no sound from the turtle.

_And if he dies..._

If he died, there would just be himself and Leo. And he knew that Leo would blame himself for the loss of a second brother, that he would take this even harder than he had taken Raph's death. He had thought he might be able to get through to Leo earlier that night, but if anything happened to Mike then there would be no way to lift his brother out of the cold depression he had fallen into since the defeat of the Shredder.

Leo paced, occasionally pausing to glance over to Mikey. He couldn't see very much from where they were and he supposed that was a good thing – that way, he wouldn't be getting in the way and asking what they were doing. Still, he was worried. Worried? That was the wrong word. He was _terrified._

He could remember the way the Foot had chased him across the rooftops of the city, wearing him out, throwing groups of ninja at him and when he took those down, sending still more. He had been utterly worn down and then they had closed in.

_Is that what happened to Mikey?_

And there was the question of why he had been left alive. It might have been for the same reason they had left Leo alive – as bait. But then, why leave him where they may never find him? And there had been no one waiting to attack them when they did find him. No, bait had not been the reasoning behind his life being spared.

_Isn't it obvious? They wanted him to suffer. They hurt him really badly, then dumped him in the alley where we wouldn't find him. They knew how he'd feel – weak, unable to help himself, knowing he couldn't reach us and that he was going to die..._

_He's not going to die!_

Leo tried not to think like that – it wasn't helping anyone – but he had seen the look in Donnie's eyes, no matter how much he tried to hide it. Don was seriously worried.

_I will not lose another brother to the Foot._

But how were they going to take them down? With Mikey and Raph, they had stood a chance and even Splinter had helped. But without them, it was just he and Donnie. And they didn't even know where the Foot were hiding.

But _Mikey_ knew.

A frown crossed Leo's brow. Mikey _might_ know. He had run into the Foot that night, that much at least seemed obvious. But why would the Foot be in that district? More likely, the Mob had been hitting Karai's interests again. But there might have been something, some clue or taunt. Perhaps the Foot used the area frequently and he could track them that way.

Of course, Mikey had been trying that tactic for weeks.

_If I'd just done things differently, tried to speak to Mikey instead of demanding, then things might have been different. He could have had the shell-cell and the three of us might have agreed on some way to search for the Foot together..._

But what was done was done and it was too late to wish things were different now. If Mikey did live, he would need time to recover and if his arm really was gone – well, how would he be able to fight? Of course, they had all learned to fight using more than their two arms but it was bound to hinder him in some way. Leo couldn't imagine being without the use of a limb.

It took a long time for the healers to finish what they were doing and to the two turtles, it felt like a couple of years. Once or twice, Leo went to go over to where Mikey lay and Don put out an arm to stop him. He was just as worried as Leo but rationally he knew that there was nothing at all they could achieve by going over there. They could see enough already.

But eventually, one of the healers rose and made his way over to them, the other remaining beside Mikey. Both turtles tensed, hoping for the best – but there was a part of each of them that feared the worst. Don tucked the sun and moon dagger away in his belt and the pair of them waited to be told how Mikey was.

Leo couldn't speak. Much as he wanted to find out how Mikey was, he was scared of hearing the answer.

It was Donnie who managed to ask the important question. "Is Mikey – is he gonna be alright?"

"We did what we could," replied the healer without inflection. "He will live, although he is still seriously ill."

Leo exhaled deeply, feeling relief wash over him. He hadn't realised just how afraid he had been that Mikey would die.

Donnie nodded. "And his arm?"

"We were unable to save it." The healer at least managed to look a little contrite. "The limb was dead. We have had to remove it."

"You _amputated his arm_?!" Leo almost screamed.

"Leo! We knew it was a probability." Don rubbed the back of his neck unhappily. "How did you – I mean, I didn't see anything like that happening. No – y'know, bone saws or anything."

"We have – other methods," replied the healer.

"Right, why the hell not? Things haven't been weird enough already." Leo looked over to where Mikey lay, at the other end of the long room. The other healer was still attending to him. "Is he awake?"

"No. We thought it better he remained unconscious for the moment."

"Right." Leo suspected there was some method they were using to keep Mikey under, or maybe he would have remained that way anyway. He had been badly hurt after all.

"One more thing," said Leo suddenly. "The weapon that did that to him, can we have it?"

"We have plans for it," added Donnie with a vengeful look that was totally unlike him.

The healer seemed uncertain, but reached into his robe and pulled out the weapon, handing it over to Leo.

Leonardo stared at it, feeling his head start spinning. The blade was a semi-circle, a trace of blood still visible. He had seen that blade hundreds of times over the years. There was no one else it could belong to.

It was Raph's.

Leo narrowed his eyes. "Karai..."

Grabbing the dagger, Don pulled the one he had always kept from his belt and compared the two. There was no doubt about it. It was an exact match.

"But... how?"

"Karai," repeated Leo, feeling the familiar anger rising within him. "She took Raph and Splinter, we only found one of his daggers. She must have taken the other when she took them. And then she found Mikey."

"And did this with Raph's own weapon." Don never took his eyes from the daggers. "She must have known where and when to find Mikey. She planned this."

"That's it. I'm going after her. Now." Leo went to walk out of the room and Don finally looked away from the daggers, raising an arm to prevent Leo from walking past.

"No! Not right now."

"I have to..."

"No you don't. Mikey needs us right now. We could be hunting for Karai for ages and right now, we need to be here for Mike more than we need to find her. You don't even know where to start looking and even if you do find her, you can't just rush in without a plan!"

Leo nodded, obviously not happy about the situation. "Fine. I'll stay here – for now. But as soon as Mikey wakes up, I'm going to find her."

"No." Don shook his head emphatically. "How do you think Mikey'll react when he _does_ wake up and see he's missing an arm? We need to be around. If he knows you've gone after Karai, he'll be worried as well as depressed. And we need to plan this thing out. Mikey rushed in and look how he ended up."

"She almost _killed_ Mike and she used _Raph's weapon_ to do it!"

"I _know_!" Don tightened his grip on the sun and moon daggers instinctively and softened his voice. "But Raph's dead. And Mikey isn't. Revenge can wait until we make sure he recovers."

Leo seemed to be about to argue – then he sighed and nodded his agreement.

"And you need to rest," added Don. "You've been fighting half the night and you look terrible."

"I'll sleep when… I'll sleep later."

"Mikey won't be waking up for a long time," said Donnie quietly. "You should try to sleep."

"I don't trust that Ultimate Ninja," muttered Leo. "I should keep watch."

"I'll do that," said Don. "We'll take turns to stand guard and make sure that nothing happens to Mike."

"Fine." Leo was too damn tired to argue. The worry, the fighting, finding Mike lying in an alley like a discarded piece of trash – it had taken it out of him.

The second healer finished what he was doing and left the hall, respecting the turtles' obvious need to be alone. Don glanced down at the daggers again, replacing the one he always carried with him in his belt. The second, he gave to Leo.

Leo made his way slowly over to where Mikey lay and checked how his brother was doing. Mike seemed comfortable enough, his eyes closed, his face pulled into a slight frown. The third scar had been cleaned up, but it was obviously going to be there for the rest of his life, cutting across the scars he had from the Shredder in a crooked H formation. There were other, less flashy wounds in his flesh, indicating that he had put up a heck of a fight before being taken down.

His arm finished at the elbow.

Leo closed his eyes briefly, fighting an uncharacteristic urge to give in to tears.

_I'm sorry Mike… I'm sorry I didn't protect you. That I failed another brother – I drove you out of the lair myself._

_I'm sorry._


	7. In The Wake Of This Madness

_Something…_

_A fight!_

_He should be fighting…_

_No. The fight was over. He should be fine where he was. Drifting. In truth, there was something that made him not wish to awake. Something he didn't want to face…_

"_Mikey?"_

_He recognised the voice but did not wish to answer. He couldn't open his eyes._

"_I think he's gonna wake up!"_

_He had to tell them…_

"_Mike?"_

_Had to warn them…_

"_Michelangelo?"_

_There was some one he had to find…_

"_Mikey?"_

…_And he had to ask…_

_&&&&&&&&&&_

"Michelangelo?"

Mikey blinked sleepily. "Raph?"

Leo frowned deeply. "No – it's me. Leo."

"Oh." Mikey closed his eyes sleepily before forcing them open. "What happened?"

Leo hesitated a moment. "There was a fight. You were – hurt. Do you remember anything?"

"I – I think…"

_You're not going anywhere!_

_Screw you Leo!_

_The Mob fighting the Foot, the police, following the ninjas…_

_Finding Karai._

_Fighting…_

_Raph…_

"RAPH!"

"Mikey, calm down…" began Leo, putting a hand on Mikey's shoulder as he tried to sit up.

Mikey tried to knock Leo's hand away, but his hand didn't connect. And something felt _wrong_, his arm too light and numb, the nerves in the lower arm refusing to respond. He glanced at the hand, feeling oddly disassociated.

His hand wasn't there.

For a few moments, everything was wiped clean from Mikey's mind – fights, feuds, brothers – all those failed to register. All he could think of was the empty space as he stared at where his arm ended, at the elbow, not at the fingers. He had one hand. Somewhere between then and now, his lower left arm had – vanished.

"Mikey, we have to tell you…"

"_WHAT HAPPENED!?"_

Another face appeared in his line of vision – Donatello. He barely cared.

Don spoke. "Mikey, calm down…"

"_Calm down!_ Where the fuck is my _hand_?!"

"Mike…"

"WHERE IS IT!?!" 

"We can't _tell_ you if you don't keep quiet."

Don spoke calmly, but Leo could see the worry etched into his face. He had been the one to introduce the implications that Mikey losing a hand might mean. Weakening his ninja skills for one. The everyday tasks that people took for granted was another. Holding a glass and a plate, writing while holding up a book, scratching in two places at once, having a really good stretch, eating while changing TV channels – all of those things were beyond Mikey now. From now on he was handicapped.

Mikey took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to regulate his breathing and hammer back the thoughts trying to crowd his brain. His arm was gone. The limb ended at the elbow. What was left for him now?

How was it possible?

"I'm calm now," said Mike harshly, although they could both sense the undertones in his voice, the anguish that wanted to return. "What happened?"

"Karai," said Leo, trying not to let his own hate come into his voice. "She ambushed you on the roof and – Mike?"

Mike's eyes were wide as Leo reminded him, his thoughts far away.

_"Behind you."   
_

_ "R-Raphael?"_

"Mikey?"

"I'm here," he said faintly. A wave of tiredness swept over him, the shock wearing off to leave behind disbelief and numbness. He just wanted to escape into sleep again, not have to think about what had happened to him – but there was something he had to tell them first. He had to warn them.

Leo frowned slightly but continued. "She attacked you with – and she injured your arm badly enough that we had to lose it or lose you."

"Not Karai."

Donnie widened his eyes and leant closer to Mike to hear more clearly. "What?"

"Not – _Karai_…"

Don and Leo exchanged glances. Leo caught Mikey's eyes. "What do you mean, not Karai?"

Mike sighed deeply, trying to raise his injured arm for a better look. "My arm…."

Don caught the stump and lowered it gently. "We're sorry Mike, but it was either that or lose you. And we _never_ want to lose you."

Mike looked up at his brothers. He could see their fear and affection in their expressions. "Not _me _you have to worry about – Karai didn't do it… my arm…"

Leo frowned. "Mikey, sleep some more if you want…"

"No." Mike widened his eyes, his face a strange mixture of anxiety in his eyes and the sneer that caught his lips. "Raph…"

"Raph?" Leo leant closer to Mike, wanting, no, _needing_, to know what Karai had done with Raph. "What about Raph?"

"Leo…" warned Don.

"Shhh!"

"Leo…" Mike closed his eyes tight for a moment, then widened them so they met his brothers. "Raph is – Raph cut off my arm."

"NO!" Don shot up and snarled, Leo looking at him, startled. "It was some kind of – hallucination or something! Raph is _dead_ and he would _never _cut of Mikey's arm! It was Raph's weapon because Karai was trying to make us think that but that doesn't make it so…."

"Donnie, HUSH!" Leo stood briefly and grabbed his Brainiac brother by the shoulders. "What's got into you?"

"It wasn't…"

"It doesn't _matter_!" hissed Leo, so that Mikey couldn't hear. "He's talking and we can't upset him and you think _yelling_ will make him feel better?"

Don caught himself, took a deep breath and nodded. "I'm – I'm sorry."

"It's OK. We all had a lot to deal with. But for now, we think about Mike and work out the rest later."

The two knelt beside Mikey again, who seemed to be struggling with his emotions. As they watched, a tear trailed down his cheek. "My arm…"

"Mikey, you can get over this," said Leo insistently. "Remember what Splinter said to us that time at the farm? A warrior can be without one of his senses and the others will compensate." At least, he hoped that was what Splinter had said. He was at best paraphrasing. At the time it had seemed irrelevant.

Mike gave out a snorting laugh, but he seemed to be falling into sleep again. "Without a sense – he didn't mention without an arm."

"He took on the Shredder without a leg, remember?" Suddenly, it seemed important to Leo that Mikey not lose faith in his abilities. "You have one arm, so what? You can still use the chucks! Even if it is only one!"

"He's asleep again Leo," said Donnie.

"He..." Leo sagged. "Yeah, I guess that didn't go so well."

"You did OK Leo," replied Don sadly. "Better than me."

"It's been…"

Mikey's right hand reached out suddenly and caught Donnie's wrist.

Don started, then covered the hand with his own. "Mike?"

Mike's eyes opened again and bored into Don's. "Raph. Is alive. I saw. Him and we had. A fight and I didn't wanna. Hurt. So I looked out for. And he cut. Arm. Because Karai. Said he should. Building. Raph and Karai. She controlled…."

Mikey's eyes slipped closed and his grip on Don's arm lost its force. Don pulled back and scowled, watching Mikey as his breathing deepened and he drifted off again.

"He thinks that Raph lost him his arm?" Leo looked over at Donnie in confusion. "He seems so sure…"

"It can't be Leo," replied Don firmly. "We saw Raph fall – we know he's dead."

"No, we don't. There was no body. We don't know anything. We just assumed – and that means that Raph _could_ be alive."

"But it makes no sense!" Don stood and started pacing. "Raph would _never _hurt Mike. Not ever. He'd rather cut off his _own _arm than Mikey's. So it couldn't have been Raph."

"But Mikey said that Karai was ordering him." Leo thought back to Mikey's somewhat disjointed speech. "At least I think he did. So maybe it was – I don't know. A clone? Or a robot? Could Karai do something like that?"

"Stockman could," replied Don. "But it would take time to create a clone then have it grow to be a teenager. It couldn't be that, unless it was made when we were children too. And a robot – I would have thought Mikey would realise, if he'd fought it. He _has_ to be mistaken."

"I guess we won't know, until he can wake up long enough to tell us," said Leo with a sigh.

At that moment, the Ultimate Ninja entered the room. Leo narrowed his eyes, his hands automatically going to his swords.

"At peace, young warrior," said the Ninja, raising his hands in a placating fashion. "I am merely enquiring as to your brother's health."

"He'll be fine," replied Don shortly.

"I am glad to hear this," replied the Ninja, his true feelings unfathomable behind his mask. "It would be a tragedy were his health to fail."

"That's not going to happen," muttered Leo.

"If there is anything more we can do for you…" The Ninja bowed slightly and departed.

"I don't trust that guy," said Don.

"Me either," replied Leo. "One of us has to keep an eye on Mikey at all times. He's out for revenge."

_&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&_

It was another nine hours before Mikey awoke again. This time, he remembered his arm right away. He glanced down, hoping it had been a dream – but no, the arm was still gone from the elbow down. He squeezed his eyes closed for a moment. One arm. His own _brother_ but off his arm…

"Mikey?" It was Don. Of Leo, there was no sign.

"I guess it's really gone, huh?" Mikey's voice sounded croaky, even to his own ears. "Got anything to drink?"

Don grabbed a glass of water he had stored for when Mike woke up, putting his arm beneath his brother's head to help him into a sitting position.

"I can sit up Donnie," said Mikey irritably.

"You've lost a lot of blood Mikey, you need to build up your strength." Don offered the glass to Mikey who tried to take it with his left hand, remembered he didn't have one any more and used his right instead.

Don hesitated a moment before speaking. "Mike… what happened? You said you saw Raph and that's impossible – right?"

Mike scowled, then sighed. "I saw him. I _fought_ him. I followed the Foot across town and we fought and then Karai appeared – she was dressed as the Shredder. And then when I asked her where Raph was, he was working for her."

Leo entered the room; saw Mikey awake and hurried over to his bed. "Mike – you're OK?"

"Fine Leo." Mikey didn't look fine however He looked depressed and still too pale, at least Leo thought so.

"Mikey still says that Raph attacked him," said Don.

"He _did_," insisted Mikey and told them exactly what had happened.

There was silence once he had finished his story and Mike glanced at the floor wearily. "You don't believe me."

"It's not that Mikey," said Donnie. "It's just that – well, even if Raph _was _still alive, why would he work for Karai? Why would he fight you? He wouldn't, end of story. Is there any way it might not have been Raph? Maybe one of Stockman's robots?"

"It was _Raph_," insisted Mikey. "He was all healed up, covered in scars. And when I hit him, he was flesh and bone. No robot. He…" Mike trailed off a moment, frowning as he remembered something. "His eyes were weird."

"Weird? Weird how?" asked Leo.

"They were red. They glowed. I think he was – well, I think he was possessed or something." Mikey gave them a defiant look, as if daring them to laugh.

"Possessed?" Don managed not to laugh, but it was a close thing. "What would have possessed him? This is Raph we're talking about. The most stubborn SOB ever? It'd take something major to do that to him. Are you sure – well, it was a stressful situation and maybe your not remembering what happened quite right…"

"I'm not crazy!" Mike glared at Don angrily. "I'm not imagining things and I _know_ what happened! Raph was _there_, he was _real_, we fought and he _cut off my arm_! And he would never do that unless _something_ made him! So he _had _to be possessed, there's no other explanation…"

"Calm down!" Leo put a hand on Mikey's shoulder. "We just – it's hard to believe that Raph is alive, much less that he attacked you or that he's working with the Foot."

"It was Raph," muttered Mikey. "It _was_."

"There's some other things we need to know Mike," said Leo. "Like, where Karai is hiding out now. Did she say anything, give you any clue?"

"No," replied Mike sulkily. "But I don't think she came far. I didn't follow the Foot for long and she wasn't out with the others when they attacked the Mob."

"So we've got some idea of where she's located," mused Leo. "If only we could narrow it down!"

"How about the way you found Mikey?" asked Don. "Ask the Gyogi."

Leo let his mouth drop open. "I don't believe I didn't think of that! It's so obvious! Why didn't I think of that?"

"Because you're not a genius," said Don with mock solemnity, pretending to polish his fingernails against his plastron. Mike rolled his eyes and Leo shook his head.

"We can find her that way," continued Leo. "But we can't go after her until we get Mikey back to the lair. I'm not leaving him here while the Ultimate Ninja has it in for us…"

"Whoa." Mike raised his hand to indicate for quiet. "I don't know who this 'Ultimate Ninja' is and it doesn't really matter. I'm going with you when you go after Karai and get Raph."

"But – your arm…"

"Is gone. Tough luck. I'm not helpless Leo. I can get back to normal even if I _don't_ have my arm. And I need to go with you; it has to be the three of us. Especially since you don't believe me about Raph and that means, you don't know what you're up against."

"It's not that we don't believe you Mikey," said Don. "It's just – we know what Raph is like and this isn't like him."

"And that's the real reason we have to go after Karai," said Mikey determinedly. "Not because of me, because she's _done_ something to Raph and we can't let her get away with it. We have to get him back or at least find out the truth. And you're not leaving me out of this one."

"You need to recuperate," said Donnie.

"So I will. And then we go after her."

Leo and Donnie exchanged looks. "But if we strike now, we could take her by surprise," began Donnie.

"Actually, not necessarily." Leo thought through what he wanted to do – and what _Karai _would expect him to do. "She'll expect us to be scouring the city, looking for Mikey. And if she realises we found him, she'll expect us to be looking for _her_. But if we wait, that'll rattle her. She'll be waiting for us to attack and when we don't, it'll unnerve her."

"You hope," said Don.

"The attack on Mikey, the way she did it, that was to goad us into going after her. I know Karai. And she knows us, how we behave, how we are. We don't do anything, it's gonna put her on edge."

There was a few moments silence, then Mikey spoke up. "But – what about Raph?"

Leo sighed. "He's been with her this long. If she were going to hurt him, she would have done already. We're just going to have to take a chance."

"If it even _is_ Raph," muttered Don.

"I know what I saw," growled Mikey.

"Guys!" Leo raised his hand, trying to shut them up. "I'm not sure if it's a good idea for you to come with us when we attack, Mikey."

Mikey tried to interrupt, but Leo spoke over him. "We don't know how long you'll need to recover and we can't wait too long. If you're up to it, great. Otherwise, you stay in the lair and Don and I go alone."

Mikey narrowed his eyes, but reluctantly nodded. Leo, who had no doubt been preparing for an argument, looked relieved.

_Don't be too happy about it Leo,_ thought Mikey, glancing down at the empty air where his arm should have been. _I'm going with you when you go after that bitch, no matter what. And I'll get her for what she did to Raph – and what she made him do to me._

_&&&&&&&&&&&&&_

Recovery took time.

The healers were good; helping Mikey be up and about far quicker than if they had stayed at the lair. But as Leo commented to Don when their brother couldn't hear, it was as if he had regressed. When Mike had discovered Splinter's existence and subsequently been imprisoned and brainwashed by the Shredder, he had become withdrawn, depressed and uncertain. It had taken a lot of patience and time on all their parts to raise him from the depths and revert him to a fun loving, jocular teen. It was only when they had gone to the farmhouse that he had really come out of himself. But Leo suspected it would take more than time and patience to bring Mikey out of his depression this time. It would take a miracle.

Whenever Mike had faced a problem he couldn't immediately fix in the past, he had turned to training, pushing his limits, trying to improve his skills and leave his worries behind. This time was no different. At first, his weakened condition and lack of limb meant it was slow going. But he learned to compensate, finding it easier to concentrate on one nunchaku rather than a pair, practising his kicks rather than punches, determined that when they went after Karai, he would not be a burden that his brothers had to keep an eye on all the time. The arena where the Battle Nexus tournaments were held became his training ground, the place where he could always be found unless eating or sleeping.

He slept a lot. Wearing himself out training was a part of it, but mostly it was because when he was awake and not practising, he couldn't stop his mind wandering back to that fateful night atop the building.

Donnie worked on his ninjitsu also, but much of his time was taken up with building whatever he thought may be useful in the fight against Karai. Leo made a brief journey back to the lair, grabbing the things that Don asked for and making a quick call to April and Casey to let them know they were safe. Much as he would have preferred to return to lair, Don knew it wasn't the best idea. The Daimyo was happy for them to remain for a while and this way, any temptation that Mikey may have had to go looking for Raph would be futile.

Although Donnie found it hard to believe that Raph really was still alive, the seed of doubt had been planted in his mind. Mikey seemed so _certain_. And of course, if Raph really was still alive, it begged the question, what of Splinter? Had the rat somehow survived or was it just Raph? Or had Mikey hallucinated the whole thing? The questions made Donnie's head spin and eventually he decided; he would be prepared for any eventuality. Maybe Raph was dead, maybe not – but he should be prepared to find him alive and on the opposite side.

Leo trained with an intensity that surpassed even that he had done when they had returned to the lair without Raph and Splinter. Karai wanted a war? That was fine with him. He found it almost impossible to reconcile his memories of her with the cold, bitter enemy she had become. Once, she had been his best friend, the person he shared his thoughts and dreams with. Now she was trying to hurt him – and his brothers. If Mikey had died, would she have gone after Donnie next? Knowing that the loss of his brothers would hurt him more than any pain she inflicted on him?

One thing was certain; he was not going to let that happen. He would find her and stop her, put an end to this circle of revenge once and for all.

He wasn't sure he would be able to kill her. Maybe not, if she tried to appeal to their history. He had to keep in mind that she wasn't his friend any longer. She wanted them all dead.

It was long weeks before Leo finally decided they were ready to strike. The wait had been tortuous, wanting every day to just return back to their own world and knock the bitch six ways from Sunday. But he knew it was a foolish course of action. Catch her off guard, that was the plan. And Mikey had been right. It had to be all three of them. She might not even believe Mikey alive, and that would throw her off her game too.

But eventually, he could wait no longer.

He found Donnie taking some down time for once, which for Don meant examining some of the strange flora and fauna that grew in this dimension. Don looked up at Leo, about to inform him of the differences in photosynthesis that occurred in the Nexus – but a glance at Leo's determined face changed his mind.

"Are we going back?"

"It's time we did," said Leo darkly. "It's been long enough. Strategy is one thing, but it's time we regained our honour. And take revenge for our brothers."

"Do you think it's a good idea for Mikey to come? He's improved, but he still seems – kinda depressed."

"He's going to be depressed until we find our answers. Once this is done with, he can finally move on. Besides, do you really think he'd let us leave him behind?"

Don smirked. "No chance in Hell."

"Let's go find him and then we ask the Gyogi where Karai is."

Mikey was where he always was – training in the Battle Nexus Arena. This insistence had worried Leo at first, thinking that the Ultimate Ninja might try something. But the Daimyo's son had not done anything against them, been nothing but solicitous and kind. Leo knew he was biding his time, waiting for the perfect opportunity for revenge of his own, but none of the turtles had afforded him that chance, ever vigilant against the threat he posed.

Mikey saw them, spun his lone nunchuck and easily deposited it into his belt. The scars on his face had been joined by a third that made the marks look like a H. His formerly expressive eyes had been overtaken by a watchfulness that seemed to darken their colour.

"We're going back to New York Mike," said Leo. "Let's go find the Gyogi and the Daimyo."

"'Bout time," said Mikey, his permanent sneer widening for a moment into a true smile – but there was no humour in it. Neither Don nor Leo would have believed their brother capable of such a look a few months before. It didn't make them feel reassured.

The Daimyo was in the main room of his spacious abode, the Gyogi hovering behind him. He took one look at the serious, determined expressions of the three turtles and nodded.

"You are leaving?"

"We appreciate all you have done for us Daimyo," said Leo with a respectful bow. "But we must return. Our honour depends upon it."

"Of course. Fight with honour young warriors. And remember, you are welcome here."

"Um, actually, before we go, can we ask a favour?" Mikey tapped into some of his innocent charm, which his brothers had suspected gone forever until that moment.

"What is your request?"

"We need to find someone," replied Leo. "Oroku Karai."

The Daimyo nodded and the Gyogi used his paddle to summon an orb of water, showing the skyline of New York. Mikey and Don, who had never seen this trick before, widened their eyes.

The Gyogi muttered in a language the turtles didn't understand and then stopped, looking up at them. The three crowded around, trying to see.

"Karai," growled Leo as he recognised the face of his once-friend, now his enemy forever.

"Where is she?" asked Mikey, trying to see over Leo's shoulder.

"Wall Street," said Don, mildly confused. "She has some business holdings but I never really thought much about it."

"It's night there," pointed out Mikey. "She working late?"

In the orb, they saw Karai glance furtively over her shoulder before slipping into a building that seemed out of place among the ultra-modern glass and steel structures that marked the business district. It was obviously old, with fancy brickwork and tall, narrow windows that were unlikely to let in much light.

"That's not about business," said Leo. "That must be where she's been hiding. No wonder we never found her."

"Well, we've found her now." Mike straightened up and scowled. "Let's get back to New York and get Raph back."

Don nodded, doubt in his eyes at the mention of Raph. "Show her not to mess with us."

Leo touched a hand to the pommel of the katana that he had made in his time at the Nexus – the old ones were buried in the roof of a van somewhere in New York. "Let's go."


	8. Fire Still Alight

Hey guys! Sorry this took a while. Been busy, but I've been on a writing jag today and half of the next cahpter's done already. So shouldn't be much of a wait for the next. My thanks as always to everyone who reviewed.

Also, there's a time lag between the last chapter and this one that I have chosen not to go into detail over. There's no point in doing so. Let me know if the tale suffered from this decision, or if you thought shedding the superfluous was the right thing to do.

_&&&&&&&&&_

The Volpehart building was conspicuous among the skyscrapers that made up the majority of the financial district. Obviously old, obviously built with a dwelling rather than an office in mind – and imposing in a Gothic kind of way. It wasn't Karai's style. Leo wondered what it was that had led the Shredder to purchase the place and Karai to continue to use it after his demise.

The three turtles watched the place for over an hour, blended into the shadows, waiting and watching for movement. Nothing. The thick curtains at the narrow windows would not let them see if there were light and movement within and Donnie's heat goggles picked up nothing through the thick walls. There was no way for them to get in save for the front door. They would not only have to go in blind, they would be forced to do so through the most obvious route.

_I don't like this at all_, thought Leo as they decided that no amount of checking out the building was going to tell them anything more. _There's something wrong here. Something – oppressive._

The three went to the door, Donnie checking out the keypad with a frown. "I hate to tell you this guys, but a two year old could get into this building. The lock isn't even activated. It might be some kind of silent alarm – whenever the door's opened, it gives a message to anyone inside. But that seems over the top."

Working the front off the keypad, he shook his head. "No, there's nothing in here that could even be that. The lock _can _be activated – but it _isn't_. I don't get it. What kind of a building on Wall Street doesn't have any security?"

"The kind that's a trap," said Leo darkly.

"It doesn't matter," replied Mikey. "We've got to get Raph. He's in there. I know it."

"Let's go." Leo turned the handle and pushed. The door opened easily and silently. The three went in, immediately taking to the shadows and looking for security cameras. None of them saw anything – but what they did see didn't make any of them feel better.

There were no lights burning in the foyer of the grand house but the light from the street was adequate, illuminating an opulence that _should_ merit at least a lock on the door. The room was huge, several doors leading from it. Large marble busts and ornate candelabras stood in the occasional corner and portraits and tapestries hung on the walls. A huge staircase faced the doors and high above, corridors connecting the upstairs rooms overlooked the foyer like balconies. Mikey might not have been in a mood for video games lately – _not that _I_ could play them anymore, _he thought sourly, conscious of his missing limb – but this place immediately put him in mind of the _Resident Evil_ series, one of his favourite ever.

And remember how you used to play it back in Foot Headquarters in the dark and Raph would sneak up and scare the living daylights outta you?

Remembering something so simple strengthened his resolve. He didn't see any cameras or any other kind of security and it made him wonder. Were they hidden? Or was there something else about this place that rendered any form of security meaningless?

Donatello could see no signs of any security and Leo had made no indication that he could either. There may be cameras too small to see, but what would be the point of that? It would make more sense to have cameras with high-resolution pictures and motion sensitive trackers. He had to conclude that there _were_ no cameras.

Emboldened, he moved forward to better look at the design on the floor. Curious. A circle partially obscured by a pyramid with an eye hovering above both. It put him in mind of something, although he wasn't sure what – ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics perhaps? Something he had seen somewhere, it looked familiar…

_...YOU HAVE COME..._

Don looked around wildly. "Who said that?"

"What?" Leo looked at him in concern. "You okay Donnie?"

Don blinked in confusion. The words seemed to have come from outside his head, but he hadn't _heard_ them as such. It was more like they blazed a trail across his brain without the medium of his hearing.

"It's – it's probably just my imagination."

Leo frowned slightly but let it go. Mike barely took any notice. "Which way do we go from here?"

_...COME TO ME... FIND THE WAY..._

This time, Donnie barely registered the words as words. Trance-like, he walked away from his brothers and over to the tapestry that hung on a nearby wall, showing an unpleasant rendition of what could have been a twisted tree, save for the reddish tint that had been used. Lifting the corner, he found an engraving in the wall of the same design prominent on the floor. Without consciously choosing to do so, he put a hand to the pyramid, which slid soundlessly into the wall. A second later, a rumbling noise came from the floor and as the turtles turned to see what it was, the circle behind the pyramid shape slid back, revealing a spiral staircase leading down into darkness.

Mikey peered over the edge, then turned to Don with a look of frank wonder on his face. "Donnie… how did you…?"

Don shook his head, as amazed as his brother. "I – I don't know. I just sorta knew it was there."

In spite of the sense of growing unease, there was no choice. The three descended the staircase.

At the foot of the steps was a cavern, the building foundations actually built around it, a shallow coating of stagnant water covering its floor. Leo noticed there were flaming torches lighting the way and his sense that something was amiss became still stronger. Torches did not remain burning indefinitely, which meant some one had lit them recently. Either someone had been down there that evening – or they had been lit in preparation for the Turtles arrival.

The cavern ended at a wall that was definitely _not_ a part of the cavern but built later. The same pyramid-circle-eye design was carved into the brickwork, but someone had added words above that in a language that Leo didn't understand. Worst of all were the objects in front of the wall. Obscured for the main by years, maybe centuries, of slime and dirt, the occasional flash of white showed through and the shapes made Leo think that maybe they were skulls. Piles of skulls, here beneath the Volpehart building.

Leo indicated to the writing. "What's it say, Don?"

"It's Italian. It says, 'abandon all hope ye who enter here'."

"Cheery," said Mikey dryly.

Leo glanced to the side and saw something that confirmed his earlier thoughts about skulls obscured beneath the dirt. "Check this out."

Mikey and Don looked at where he pointed and flinched. A mouldering skeleton sat leant against one of the foundation walls, tattered remnants of clothing still visible, the occasional dried, dark thing that may have been human tissue clinging to the bones. The means of death weren't immediately apparent to any of them; but that he or she had died down here and been left to rot was more than enough to tell them it was not a friendly place.

"We gotta find Raph," said Mikey, tearing his eyes away from the skeleton. "He's gotta be in here!"

Mike hurried toward the symbol on the wall, remembering how Don had pressed the pyramid in the wall upstairs and revealed a secret passage. If that was how the exits were revealed, then that's what he'd have to do. Putting his one hand against the pyramid, he used his shoulder to help him put some strength into the push.

"Mikey, _wait_!" shouted Leo, starting after him to pull him back.

Too late. The pyramid sank only an inch or so into the wall – but it was enough. The eye above the circle suddenly lit up, bathing the entire cavern in a red glow so strong that the turtles had to turn their heads from it. And as they did so, noticed something happening behind them.

Belatedly realising his mistake, Mikey took his hand off the pyramid. It made no difference, didn't stop what was happening.

The skeleton they had noticed was lit up from within by the same red light. Impossibly, it moved, its limbs twitching, bones grinding together as it pushed itself to its feet and stood to face them.

_...come to me..._

_...come to me..._

A noise from behind the skeleton made them all shift their gazes. Five more skeletons pushed themselves to their feet, dressed in an array of different styles of clothing that seemed to have come from more than one era of history. Rattling, clicking noises from the piles of bones scattered in the shadows suggested that more might be on their way.

Donnie grabbed for his Bo and clenched it tightly, taking on a fighting stance even as his rational mind tried to reject what he was seeing.

They have no muscles, no tendons, there's no way for them to walk – and they have no vocal folds, no tongues, no lips so they can't be talking. So why are they moving? And why can I HEAR them? Where's that voice COMING from?

_...come to me..._

_...COME TO ME..._

Leo was the first to react, running forward and attacking the nearest skeleton, slicing off its head with a sweep of his katana. It didn't even slow, knocking Leo aside with an amazingly powerful blow to his plastron. He sprang back to his feet and immediately blocked a sword attack from a skeleton in a barely recognisable soldier uniform, holding it off before sending it flying with a punch that disintegrated its rotting jawbone.

A skeleton advanced on Donnie, wielding a sword in one fleshless hand. Don blocked the attacks easily – he had spent his whole life sparring against Leonardo after all – and slammed the end of his bo into the skeletons shoulder joint, which snapped and sent the arm and the sword into the wall, where the bones separated from each other.

Mikey might have cursed the loss of his arm at that point, had he been focused on anything but the fight. A skeleton swung at him with wickedly curved daggers and he dodged, sending a kick to its ribs that knocked it away. A second attacked him from behind and he used his shell to absorb the blow, turning and knocking the skull clean off with a single swipe of his chucks.

"There's something seriously wrong here," said Donnie, wondering who was going to be first to point out he was stating the obvious. "You can hit them, but they just keep coming!"

"And there's more of 'em," added Mikey grimly, looking over his shoulder and seeing still more of the reanimated dead standing and watching them, that creepy light shining out of their eyes.

_That creepy light?_

Suddenly Mikey thought back to _that_ night, the night he and Raph had fought on the rooftops, the night he had lost the lower half of his left arm. Raph's eyes had been glowing then too, in that exact same way. The same way that the skeletons empty eye sockets now were…

And then Don grabbed his shoulder. "Snap out of it Mikey! We have to get out of here!"

"No!" Mike never took his eyes from the oncoming hoard. "Raph's behind that door, he has to be… their eyes, that's what…"

"We can't kill the dead Mike!" Don gave Mike a push, hoping it would get him moving, then looked over at Leo. "Come on Leo! We have to regroup, come up with a plan!"

"Run away?" Leo tightened his grip on his swords.

"_Find_ a way," corrected Don. "We can't kill them and we can't stop them, not with our weapons – there has to be another way past them and the best place to look is in the building."

Reluctantly, Leo nodded and ran after the other two. Glancing over his shoulder as he ascended the staircase, he saw the undead army marching up after them.

"Quick, they're coming!"

Mikey was first back into the foyer of the building, rushing over to the tapestry and struggling to hold it back with the stub of his elbow while he used his hand to press the pyramid shape again. The angle was bad for him, but he managed. Don followed him up and Leo leapt from the top step just as the hole in the floor slid back and covered the staircase, preventing the skeletons from following.

Unmindful of who may be listening or any security cameras, Mike walked into the centre of the room and looked down at where the symbol was. "What the _shell _is going on here?"

Don shook his head. "I don't know. Those skeletons – they shouldn't have been able to _move_, let alone fight. It's scientifically impossible."

"Something mystical then," said Leo with a sigh. He'd had enough of mysticism for one lifetime.

Mikey looked at Don with narrowed eyes. "You 'just knew' that there was a way to get to that cavern. And those skeletons – that was the same thing I saw when Raph – when I saw Raph. His eyes were just like that, glowing red. I knew he was here. Whatever got those skeletons walking and talking, that's what's controlling Raphael."

"So where does Karai fit into all this?" asked Don.

"We need answers," said Leo, sheathing his katana. "Let's take a look around up here. Maybe there's some clue as to how to get rid of them."

They went through the first door, which led to another staircase leading up. Leo shook his head. "We search this floor first. And stay in sight. If there _is_ something here that can mess with our heads, it's best not to be alone."

The second door led to what appeared to be a study. A large fireplace against the far wall lay cold and unlit and above it, a large portrait dominated the room. They all recognised it – a portrait of the same man had been in the foyer. Obviously, whoever had decorated hadn't been afraid of the running theme. Tomes of books lined the walls and a large mahogany desk took up most of one side of the room, the other given over to leather chairs surrounding a games table. It reminded Mikey even more strongly of _Resident Evil_ and he was tempted to start moving the chess pieces or lighting the fire to see if any secret doors opened, revealing passages or weapons. Considering the sheer number of unkillable enemies they had just faced, a rocket launcher would be favourite.

Donnie walked over to the bookcase and noticed that while most of the volumes were coated with dust, there was one that seemed to be in far better condition than any of the others, its spine free of the telltale signs of neglect. He frowned curiously at the spine. No title. Pulling it off the shelf, he almost expected a hidden door to emerge himself – Mikey wasn't the only one who had spent hours at the Foot Headquarters playing video games – but nothing happened.

The front of the book bore the logo that had been on the wall and the floor of the foyer. The one that had brought the skeletons to life.

"Guys, look at this!"

Leo and Mikey wandered over and gazed curiously at the book as Donnie opened it, immediately wrinkling his beak. The book may not have been quite so dusty and neglected as the others, but the unpleasant odour of age and decay still came from it.

A red ribbon attached to the spine to serve as a bookmark was tucked between pages half way through the book and Donnie went to that page, hoping that whoever had read it last had been searching for the same answers they were. But on first glance, he was disappointed. The text was in English but of the archaic sort, written at least a hundred years before, possibly even more – entomology wasn't one of his passions. Still, he glimpsed over it to see if there was anything at all that might help them.

"What does it say?" asked Mikey impatiently.

Don frowned as he flipped to the next page, unmindful of the delicacy of the paper. "This is odd…"

"What is?"

"It's written by a man called C.F. Volpehart."

"Like the building," pointed out Leo. "An old family diary. So what?"

"It says here that a thousand years ago, a meteorite fell to Earth. It brought um, 'a creature of terrible evil and insatiable hunger' with it. This creature could tempt people to serve it by appealing to their greed – it could promise them wealth and riches. Uh, the natives resisted it and even made a weapon that could kill it – they crafted it out of the meteorite. But before they could use it, the creature had lured people to do its bidding and one of them was Volpehart himself. He took the land by force and killed the natives who resisted – some of them with the weapon they made to kill the creature. Nice guy."

"So the guy who built this place was a bastard," said Mikey. "I don't see how any of that helps us."

"It might," said Don thoughtfully. "Listen to this. Volpehart got rich off the land he stole and presumably, his heirs got richer still. The creature got stronger and stronger and kept luring people to it by appealing to their greed."

Leo frowned. "The entire nations financial capital is in this area…"

"Exactly." Don looked at Leo with worried eyes. "If this creature really _does_ exist, it's here. In this building. Down _there_."

"So _why_ does it attract people to it?" asked Leo. "What does it want from them?"

Don examined the pages further. "It doesn't say here and it'll take me all night to go through the whole book."

"Uh, newsflash bros," said Mikey. "This whole 'lured by greed' thing. Does that sound like Raph to you? What would Raph do with a million bucks? It's not like he could go to the store and spend it. And he was being _controlled_ somehow."

"It's not like Raph," said Leo, thinking it through. "But it _is_ like Shredder. As well as revenge, Shredder wanted power. He couldn't get his revenge on the Utrom's without power. That's why he was in the business world, the criminal world too. The wealth he had made him more powerful and more able to assert his will on the people around him, leading to a better chance of finding the Utrom's and getting revenge on them. And then when we killed the Shredder…"

"…Karai wanted her revenge too," said Donnie. "On _us_."

"So she found Raph and Splinter that night," said Mikey; actually able to _see _how the scene had gone down. "Maybe she thought of the creature right away or maybe she just did it to mess with our heads at first. But then she thinks of this place…"

"The creature's sentient and has some form of telepathy, that much we know," added Donnie. "So maybe she manages to make a deal of some kind with it. She gives it what it wants…"

"…And it gives her what _she_ wants," finished Leo, his expression grim. "Her revenge on us. To hurt us in the worst way she can and then finish us off."

The three turtles were silent for a moment, then Leo continued. "Don, is there anything in there that would tell us how we could get rid of a creature like that?"

Don shook his head. "The weapon the natives made, but there's nothing in the book about where it went after Volpehart used it against the natives."

"That's just great," said Mikey, wandering over to the fireplace and looking up at the giant portrait he suspected was Volpehart himself. The mans visage smirked out of the painting, seeming to mock them. Mikey reached out his good arm and leant on the fireplace against it. "So what do…"

There was a barely audible click from beneath Mikey's palm and he snatched his hand back as a panel of the woodwork dropped down.

Leo looked at the space in disinterest, not thinking very much of the fallen panel – then noticed a dull red glow coming from within.

"Mikey, back away from there!"

Mikey took a few steps back and bent to see what was within. "Guys, I think we're in business."

He reached in to the gap, ignoring Leo's frantic protestations and pulled out a spear, obviously old but the wood that formed the body was sturdy and the head was not carved from the typical grey granite that was typical for the era it was from, but from something else, something that still glowed a dull red.

"The meteor spear!" Don looked at it in wonder. "Volpehart must have kept it."

Mikey narrowed his eyes and spun the spear in his hand. "Let's go kick monster ass."

"Whoa, wait." Leo frowned, considering the spear. "We think the creature got to Donnie before, trying to lead us down there, probably into a trap. And Mikey just coincidentally happens to find the exact tool we need before we go back in there? By _accident_? I don't like this at all."

Mikey looked back at him, his gaze steady. "There's no choice Leo. I'm not overjoyed about it either, but if we want to get Raph back, we have to go kill that creature and that means we have to go back down there."

_You're not overjoyed about it?_ thought Leo as he returned Mikey's look. _Bull. You're finally doing something, going to slay the demon and you've been waiting for this moment since Raph disappeared. _

But he said nothing, because Mikey was right – they didn't have a choice. And anyway, he too had been awaiting some payback. Not just for the loss of Raph either. Something within Michelangelo seemed to be dead too.

_&&&&&&&&&_

Leonardo took the spear as they reopened the circle that led to the staircase to the cavern, not wanting Mikey to have his only fighting hand full. Although the skeletons had followed them up, they had evidently returned to the cavern. Thinking of the skeletons made Leo wonder uneasily exactly what made this creature so evil, why it lured people to it. What it did to them when they went to it.

Some of them it made rich, evidenced by the lives that went on around it. Those chosen few served it, aided it. But – those skeletons had to have come from somewhere and Leo would have bet anything that they too had been called to the creature through the promise of fabulous wealth – and then the promise had been broken.

The cavern appeared lit only by the torches on the walls, but as soon as they stepped into the stagnant water, the eye on the wall glowed fiercely, hurting their eyes. The skeletons that had not been evident a moment ago again rose to face them.

"Back off."

Acting on instinct, Leonardo held the meteor spear aloft in the air. The skeletons shied away from its glow, as if sensing that the light from the spearhead was the antithesis of the one that caused them to walk. The three turtles made their way to the end of the cavern without being attacked.

No sooner had they approached the door with the now familiar carving on it, it slid open without them even having to touch it. Leo frowned deeply. Something was expecting them.

None of them heard the sound of someone following them, the skeletons also leaving them alone, although for far different reasons.

The cavern continued onwards, reinforcing their belief that the wall with the symbol was in fact man made. There was no light whatsoever and Leo held the meteor spear aloft so that they could see where they were going.

As they approached the end of the narrow cavern, they could see a similar light glowing at the exit. Leo lowered the spear and the three of them cautiously made their way into the opening, which led to a cave easily bigger than their whole lair. A spherical rock lay in the centre, glowing red from within, flames roaring from the deep crater it lay in.

"Whoa," said Donnie as he looked over. "I guess that's the meteor that was in the book."

"Guys, over here," said Leo as he noticed something odd about the walls of the cave. They did not seem to be formed of rock; rather they were covered in a layer of – _something_. Large, oblong shapes that put him in mind of a beehive, or perhaps a clutch of frogspawn, on a much more massive level of course. The thought was not a comforting one.

"What _are_ those things?" asked Donnie, although Leo had been hoping that Don would know the answer to that particular question.

Shrugging, Leo took out a katana and sliced deeply into one of the pods. The three started backwards as a skeleton fell forward – then they relaxed as they realised that this one at least was not going to chase after them. It was as dead as a person could get. A sheath of papers fell from its grasp and fluttered to the ground.

"Don picked one of them up and examined it. "These are Civil War bonds. This guy must be a hundred and fifty years old!"

"There must be thousands of these cells," said Leo, glancing around the room.

"Um… guys?"

Mikey's voice was hesitant and startled, reminding Leo forcibly of the Mikey of old. He turned around to see what his brother wanted – and saw tentacles emerging from the walls around them, spread over a huge distance, reddish coloured and waving.

And reaching for them.

"Are there more than one of those things?"

Leonardo almost went for his swords, then remembered that he carried the meteor spear and got a tighter grip on it, cocking it backward like a javelin. Before he could throw, a tentacle smacked against his shell, forcing him to stumble forward. He could hear the sounds of Mikey's nunchaku whirling and see Donnie from the corner of his eye using his bo to knock the tentacles away.

"Donnie!"

Distracted, Leo glanced away from the creature, his grip on the spear faltering. A tentacle had wrapped around Donnie and lifted him off his feet. Mikey raced toward him, single nunchaku flailing. Before he could make any difference, another tentacle snaked around his ankle and lifted him off his feet.

Leo raised the spear and went to slice through the tentacles that were holding his brothers – but a third tentacle hit his arm, knocking the spear into the shadows and pinning his arms to his sides as he was lifted from his feet.

And as they dangled helplessly high above the ground, unable to reach their weapons or get themselves free, a familiar figure walked into the cave.

Leonardo heard Donnie's gasp of disbelief and felt his own jaw drop as he recognised the figure that walked into the middle of the sea of tentacles – how could he not? He had seen that person every day of his life, from the day they were mutated until the night of the fight with the Shredder.

"_Raphael!"_

Until that moment, he hadn't believed it. Not really. He had hoped Raph alive, but known logically that the chances were slim. Even after what Mikey had said, after hope had flared brighter than before, the way Mikey had described their missing brother made him wonder if what Donnie had said about Mikey's being delusional after his injury made more sense than thinking that Raph would ever harm Mikey.

But he was there, right in front of them. And the tentacles were disregarding him.

Donatello stopped struggling against the creature and stared at the turtle below. The angle was bad but he could see the scars pitted against his brother's skin that had not been there previously, the way his shell seemed jagged and different. And when the turtle raised his head to look up at them, his eyes glowed as red as the skeletons they had faced earlier.

But Don knew, just as surely as Mikey had. It was Raphael. He had been so convinced he was dead, so _sure _– and yet he wasn't. He was alive. And by the looks of it, in deep trouble.

Donnie assumed that Raph was there to help them, had somehow been able to fight off the creatures control of him and had realised they were in trouble of meeting the same fate. But Raphael didn't move to attack the creature, or to help them. He merely stood there and looked up at his three brothers, held fast by the monster.

"It's – Karai," wheezed Leo as the creature's tentacles squeezed him tighter. "She's – messing with us… taunting us… sent him so we'd… see him…"

Donnie understood and a wave of despair came over him. All this time, Raph had been alive and under the control of the creature and yet, they had been unable to find him and now they had, they would meet the same fate as him – or worse…

And then more tentacles emerged, heading for each turtle with great speed. Donnie barely had the chance to begin his struggles anew before it filled his entire vision and he closed his eyes, knowing there was nothing he could do to stop it…

And that was the last thing he knew for a while.


	9. Dreamed A Thousand Dreams

**Authors Note: **Just to clarify - _italics are thoughts._ But _...italics with stops around are thought projection..._

&&&&&&&

Donatello opened his eyes and stared at the floor beneath his beak – smooth, polished wood. He blinked, wondering if he was seeing things. The wood remained.

Bracing his hands against the floor, he pushed himself to a kneeling position and looked around, startled. He was back in Foot Headquarters, the severed and smoking mechanical arm of the Shredder mere inches away. The Shredder himself was flailing his mechanical arms around, obviously having been hit by something very large and explosive.

_What the...?_

"Donnie!" Mike was by his side in an instant, helping him up. "You okay?"

_Mikey has – two hands?_

With a feeling of dread, Donnie realised that somehow, he was back on the night when they fought and defeated the Shredder, the night they had lost Splinter – and Raph.

Looking at the Shredder, a blur of motion aimed for the Shredder – Splinter, remembered Donnie with a pang.

_No, this has already happened!_ _We fought Shredder, we lost Splinter and Raph, we grew apart, Mikey found Raph again and lost an arm and we went after Karai and there was some kind of – creature..._

Just as Donnie remembered, one of the Shredder's mechanical arms hit Splinter mid-leap and threw him toward the window.

_It was a dream, while I was knocked out from the blast,_ decided Donnie in a burst of cold logic. _No one in my family's gonna go missing tonight. Not if I can help it._

Splinter hit the window hard, just as Donnie remembered, but this time Don was already moving toward the window. The glass gave and the rat fell backwards and began his plummet…

And this time, Donnie was close enough that Splinter was able to grab the bo and stop his fall.

Beneath him, Splinter stared wide-eyed as Don grinned. He had done it! He had saved Splinter; meaning Raph wouldn't go after him, meaning Karai couldn't…

Karai. He had forgotten about her.

A hard blow to his shell knocked him forward and his feet met with thin air as he fell from the window and he and Splinter began to fall…

He didn't even have the illusion of the rope, as Raph had. They were falling and there was nothing he could do to save his own life or Splinter's. He heard Mikey screaming his name as the helipad rushed closer to meet him…

And woke up, his beak pressed against the hard wooden floor of Shredder's private dojo, where he could hear the aftermath of the explosion that had taken off the Shredder's leg. The shot that he had fired.

Getting to his feet, he saw the blur of Splinter heading for the Shredder, trying to finish him off before he could recover.

_Is this real?_

Shredder's flailing mechanical arm hit Splinter, throwing him back into the window.

_Has this already happened?_

The window gave and Splinter fought gravity for a moment as Donnie raced toward the rat, bo prepared for Splinter to grab on to.

_Was the creature real? Did I imagine it? Was I even unconscious?_

He threw himself across the glass-strewn floor, reached his bo to Splinter as he fell – and the rat missed his grip and began to plummet.

_I failed; I've let him die, again..._

And a green blur leapt over him and jumped after Splinter.

Raph.

_The rope!_

Before he could get up and guard the rope, Karai was there already, incapacitating him with a kick, slicing her sword through the rope that was the only thing that could save either Raph or Splinter now.

"_RAPHAEL!!"_

Don could hear Mikey scream and he knew that in a moment, the scarred turtle would attack Karai; giving her the worst of the injuries to her body she would receive that night.

Instead, Karai turned and in one swift movement, brought down her sword. Donnie couldn't see the blow land, still unable to move on the floor. But a second later, a nunchaku landed beside him. The arm that had wielded it was still clinging to it, ending in a mess of bone and blood. A moment later, Donnie heard Leo's yell of anguish as Karai swung the sword again. Out of his sight, something heavy fell to the floor.

_Couldn't save him – I was right here and I couldn't even move – I let him die!_

Donnie fought to get up, get his breath back, anything. Raph and Splinter were gone. Mikey was gone. That left Leo and himself – and Leo couldn't do this if Don didn't help.

But there was something wrong with him. He couldn't get up.

Leo raced at Karai, screaming in fury, swords extended, the killing blow certain. Karai regarded him with cold eyes, merely waiting for his attack.

And as Leo leapt, the Shredder made his move, unleashing a blast so powerful it threw Leo off course, away from Karai, blackening and tearing his flesh. Donnie was suddenly assaulted by the powerful stink of burning…

And he woke up, his beak pressed against the hardwood floor of the dojo.

_Please no more... what's going on? Why do I keep letting them die?_

_&&&&&&&&&&_

Michelangelo rubbed the back of his head with his remaining hand and groaned, forcing his eyes open. He seemed to be in another cavern, dimly lit by some unseen source. There was no sign of the creature – and no sign of his brothers either. _Any _of them.

_Raph was here._

The memory forced away the last of the bleariness and he tried to remember what exactly had happened before he woke up here. The creature had been holding them, Raph had turned up, there was a brief recollection of being hit with another tentacle and then – nothing.

Raph must have stopped the creature somehow and because I was injured, they left me here while they went after it to finish it off!

Logic told him that at least one of them would have stayed with him, but he refused to let logic intrude on a good theory. He sat up and glanced around, eyes narrowing as he saw a shadow approaching around the corner. He reached down for his lone nunchaku and found that somewhere along the line he'd lost it.

Doesn't matter, I've got another one at the lair the same, can't use it because I only have one arm now...

"Who's there?" he asked in a low voice, hoping it was one of his brothers.

"Mikey!"

_That voice!_

"Raphael!" Mike got to his feet and grinned for the first time in weeks, months even. "I knew it! I _knew _you were alive! I knew the creature didn't get you!"

"You're wrong Mikey."

Mike frowned. His brother's voice sounded – different. There was an undertone of malice he had never heard from Raph before.

"The creature got me Mike," continued Raph, coming into view. His right side at least. His left side was still hidden behind the rocks. "But it was merciful. It offered us a chance to join it – and I took its offer."

Raph continued forward and with dread rising in his throat, Mikey realised that Raph's left arm was no longer there. Instead, there was a mass of tentacles, just like those of the creature.

"No… Raph…"

"No?" Raph tilted his head to one side. "Your choice."

"Raph, NO!" Mike got to his feet and wondered if he would do well to fight or if he would be better to run, find the others, find some way of subduing Raph and getting away from all this.

Too late. Raph leapt forward, a kick landing on Mikey's plastron. Mikey landed on his shell, staring up at Raph, feeling as helpless as he had done the first time that Raph put him through this.

Raph reached a hand behind his back and pulled out a katana, advancing slowly. "A gift from the last brother who said 'no'," he said with a grin that bore no resemblance to the turtle he had once been.

"Leo?"

"Who else?" Raph laughed, holding the katana in front of him with the hand that was still his own. Mikey might have been able to do something then, but he felt glued to the spot, frozen…

And without warning, Raph stopped laughing and lashed out with the sword.

The shot was aimed at his face and Mike brought up his right arm to block the shot. The limb fell to the floor, surprisingly painless, blood trickling from the new wound and running warm down his sides.

"That's you Mikey. Totally 'armless," said Raph, with what Mikey would have dubbed 'worst pun of the century' had he been in a position to judge. As it was, he was in shock. His only arm, removed.

"Maybe we should have some fun," mused Raphael, swinging the sword again. It sliced through Mike's left leg and Mikey screamed as the blade went through muscles and bone and sinew and stopped halfway through the limb.

"Hate when that happens, don't you?" Raph's tone was conversational as he pulled the sword away and tried again. This time, the blade cut through the rest of the limb and Mikey stared as the leg became separate from him, save for a few stringy, bloody red things that he thought might have been nerves.

"One down, one to go," said Raph, grinning at Mike. "Don't worry, this won't hurt a bit – ahh, who am I kidding?"

This time, the sword took three swings to sever the limb. Mikey, unable to do anything, stared wide-eyes at his much-loved brother and found he had no words to save himself.

"Quiet huh? First time in your life. I should have done this years ago!" Raph grabbed Mikey's legs and threw them carelessly aside, kneeling in front of Mike. "Now you're in no position to run, or clobber me with those chucks, maybe I should take you to meet my new boss."

"…No…"

"Come with Mikey!" With macabre good cheer, Raph grabbed Mikey by the shell and began dragging him away.

_&&&&&&&&&&&&&_

Leo opened his eyes and found himself in a tunnel leading from the cavern, the whole place submerged in gloom. He rose, looking around for Donnie or Mike. No one else was there.

But someone was approaching.

Leo unsheathed a katana and narrowed his eyes as the figure came into view. Armoured, helmeted, staring at him through inhuman eyes.

"SHREDDER!"

Leo leapt for the figure, driving his sword down. Before the blade touched, Shredder caught it with the prongs of his gauntlet and threw Leo aside.

Leo rolled and jumped back to his feet, katana raised against the…

_Man?_

A slow smile spread across Leo's face. "You're not the Shredder. I killed him myself."

The armoured figure regarded him impassively.

"But I know what Mikey told me."

He ran for the figure, which blocked every blow, parried every strike.

"It's you Karai." _Clash_. "I know it is." _Clash._ "Why hide behind the armour?"

The Shredder, slightly dazed, backed off a couple of steps and Leo took his chance, a spinning kick knocking off her helmet…

_Her?_

Not her. With a growing sense of dread, Leo stared as the Shredder as he moved his face and looked at the turtle.

The face was his own.

"NO!"

"Who else?" Shredder-Leo grinned at his stunned counterpart. "Who else could hurt your family this way? Who else could lead them to do something so stupid? Who else could lead them to their deaths?"

"_I didn't want them to die!"_

"No?" Shredder-Leo continued to smirk. "You had it pretty good back in Foot Headquarters, didn't you? You were training Foot ninja, you had your Sensei's trust, you had a good life. And then one of your brothers rocked the boat. _Michelangelo_, if I remember correctly."

"SHUT UP!"

"Mikey. He dragged you out of the Foot, took you from your life and made you live in a stinky sewer. But we didn't take him first. Because there was someone who was more of a thorn in our sides, wasn't there?"

"No…"

"Raphael. Yes, he was the one it was unbearable to live with. He was the one who argued with us so badly we had to leave the lair and got attacked. He was the one. We could put up with Mike, but we had to get rid of Raph. Oh, and let's not forget Splinter. The rat. The one who put the idea into Mikey's head in the first place, who thought he could replace our Sensei."

"That –that's not how it was!"

"Don't lie to yourself. You knew what would happen if you led the attack on Foot Headquarters and you did it anyway. Because deep down, you hate your family. You hate their weakness in depending on you, looking on you to lead them. You hate that they took you from your happy life and forced you into what you have now. Their fault you were attacked and injured, their fault that you have to live out of sight, their fault. All their fault."

"NO!" Leo leapt for his alternate, katana ready to slice off his head. But anger had already defeated him. Shredder-Leo merely stepped aside, swung his gauntlet and caught Leo's katana, tossing it aside as he raised a foot to knock the breathe out of Leonardo. Leo rolled over, his stomach heaving at the force of the blow.

Shredder-Leo retrieved his helmet and replaced it, looking at Leo from behind the metal. "We are one. It is your destiny to lead your family to their doom. You truly are the son of the Shredder, Leonardo. I am proud…"

"_You are not me!"_

Leo ran for his foe again, ignoring the pain. The Shredder merely parried the katana swing and struck Leo in the face with his fist. Leo fell to the floor, feeling helpless.

Shredder walked over to Leo, resting a foot on his plastron. "You should admit it Leonardo. You and I, we are the same. I brought you up too well for you to fall to foolish sentiment. I groomed you to take over from me and you seriously tell me you would be happy living away from the humans, hiding from them, when you could have the world? You would rather live with a clown who has forgotten how to laugh, a genius whom you do not understand – you would rather have _that_?"

Leo felt the weight of the Shredder on his plastron and a part of his mind wholeheartedly agreed with the Shredder. He _had_ been happy with the Foot. He _had_ liked what he had done there. And his brothers alternately confused, annoyed and irritated him.

But…

_With Donatello, chasing around Foot headquarters aged maybe seven, radio controlled car speeding around while they took it in turns to drive the thing through the corridors, laughing when one of them crashed the thing into a wall or smashed into a Foot soldiers ankle..._

_Donatello, risking himself for a total stranger, going after the mousers when he could have let April die, leaving the Foot and all his research behind for the good of his family..._

_With Michelangelo, sometime in their early teens, his brother in one of the jocular moods that had gotten few and far between the older he got, dragging Leo away from his katas and talking him into a video game that got so rowdy that two passing Foot ninja thought they were fighting and checked the room to see who was being killed, Leo laughing so hard that his stomach had hurt for the rest of the day..._

_Michelangelo, scarred by the Shredder and losing his arm in his desperate hunt for his missing brother..._

_With Raphael, not a year before they had left the Foot forever, on a midnight run, leaping across rooftops and trying to outdo each other with their stunts and flips, exchanging good-natured insults and for once not bothering to try to keep silent, too high up for anyone to hear them, just enjoying the moment..._

_Raphael, leaping out of a window with nothing between him and a messy landing but a single rope, all to rescue Splinter... _

"I choose, Shredder," he snarled. "I choose as they did. I choose my _family_!"

With that, he rolled aside and jumped to his feet.

"_This isn't real!"_ he yelled.

"I beg to differ Leonardo," replied the Shredder. "This is _very _real."

"Only in my head." Leo took a deep breath and let it out again. "You're not here. I'm not here. This is the creature, messing with us. Where are my _brothers_?"

"Worry about yourself," snarled the Shredder, advancing.

"I can't worry about you – you don't exist." Leo turned his back on the Shredder and hoped he was right. Otherwise, he was in for a world of hurt.

He closed his eyes, hearing the Shredder's approach…

And woke up sitting upright in a chair of some kind. Looking around, he was in a small – room? – with three walls that were mildly organic looking and a fourth that was not only organic looking but also pulsing mildly, slightly transparent with light struggling through it.

Leo took the katana from his back, slightly surprised that they remained. He sliced through the wall, some kind of membrane if he had to guess, although Donnie would know for sure.

Donnie – Mikey...

He had to find them. Now.

He stepped through the membrane, realising he was covered with some kind of slime and feeling grossed out. His previous comment came back to haunt him – _it could take us weeks to search all of these!_

But there were two pods beside the one he had just broken out of, glowing with the same dull red glow he remembered from the meteor spear.

He slashed through the first one and sure enough, there was Michelangelo.

_&&&&&&&&&_

"Raph – no! Please!"

Raphael kept pulling him, on his infernal course.

"You already took everything," sobbed Mike. "My arms, my legs, my brothers, _everything_! You can't just let me die?"

Raph turned his head and looked at Mikey, a sneer twisting up his face.

"Listen to me, Mikey."

Mikey stared. The words were coming out of Raph's mouth, but the voice was definitely Leo's.

"This isn't real. It's all in your mind… you have to wake up! Please…

_&&&&&&&&&&_

"…Wake up."

Mikey blinked and looked around. Leo was leaning through a slash in a membrane on one wall, talking to him. Quickly, Mikey looked down. He had one arm and two legs.

"I'm – whole?"

Leo frowned, obviously unsure of how to respond.

"Whole enough." Mikey replied his own question, standing up. "What happened?"

"It was a dream – a nightmare. I think the creature messed with our heads, made us live our nightmares." Leo pulled at the membrane, giving Mikey enough room to get out. "We have to find Donnie."

"And now," agreed Mikey wholeheartedly.

_&&&&&&&_

Splinter fell through the window.

_How many times? _Thought Donnie as he leapt for the rat and missed once more. _How many times do I have to fail, to see my family die before my eyes?_

A green blur passed in front of him. Leo, this time.

"Wake up Donnie!" he yelled as he fell out of sight.

Don blinked. "Huh?"

Mikey ran over, not screaming at Karai this time. Instead, he grabbed Don by the shoulder. "The creature's fucking with us! Mind games – please Don, wake up! Wake up! Wake…"

_&&&&&&&&&_

"…Up!"

Don rubbed his eyes. The scene that had been playing in front of him was gone. Instead, he was in some kind of – cocoon – with a faint light around him. Leo and Mikey had both come in through a sword-slash in the membranous walls and were shaking him.

"What….?"

"The creature," replied Leo and Don noticed he was covered in some kind of slime. Mikey too. "Playing with us. This is what it does to people who it lures – it feeds off them somehow, off their fears. It's been doing that to us."

"Where is it now?" asked Don, standing up in a hurry. He didn't want to be a battery cell for an evil being from outer space any longer.

"We haven't seen it," replied Mikey. "But it has to be around."

Don thought back over his confused memories. "Did you guys see…?"

"Raph," confirmed Mike, his mouth trying to turn down at the corners. "The creature has him, but only because Karai let it. We have to get him free. And the only way to do that…"

"Kill the creature," confirmed Leo.

"And Raphael's still around, somewhere," added Don. "He'll try to hurt us. We can't let him – it's for his own good."

"But don't hurt him, if you can help it," said Mikey; still shaken by the vision he'd had but unwilling to give in to it.

The three stepped out of the pod, glancing around for Raph but not seeing their brother – or any sign of the creature. Don looked at the hundreds of pods and whistled. "How did you find us, in all these cells?"

"They were glowing," replied Leo. "Glowing red, just like the spear. Speaking of which, I dropped it. We need to find it before we can do anything."

Mikey pointed to the spot he recalled Leo being stood in before the creature got hold of him. "I think…"

He didn't get a chance to finish the sentence. A figure swooped out of the darkness and kicked him hard in the plastron, knocking him flying.

Raphael.

His eyes glowing an eerie red, Raph turned to Leo and Donnie, a vacant grin on his face. The sun and moon daggers, not his original pair which the turtles had possession of, but a shiny new set, glinted in his hands.

And Donnie, barely able to credit what he was seeing, froze.

"Look out!" Leo barrelled into Raph as the turtle suddenly darted at Don. The pair went down in a mass of limbs and Don finally found himself able to move, snatching his bo and targeting the back of Raph's exposed neck, hoping the blow would incapacitate or at least knock his brother out.

Raph turned at the last possible second, the bo smacking him in the arm instead of the neck. Looking up, he flicked a wrist, Leo punching at the limb a fraction of a second too late. Don jerked back, the sun and moon dagger opening the skin on the side of his head. Raph threw Leo aside and jumped to his feet, barrelling at Donnie. Don raised his bo and for a moment, he and Raphael tussled, Don's brown eyes meeting the glowing red ones of his brother. Then Don shoved Raph backwards, the possessed turtle stumbling, almost falling, before regaining his feet.

Leonardo jumped up too, then glanced at the walls. He narrowed his eyes and paused for a moment, not going to help Donnie. There were tentacles snaking out of the walls, evidently planning on trapping them in the pods again. If they were to escape again, would the same thing happen? Continually recaptured and trapped until there seemed no point in waking from their nightmares?

The tentacles moved at a speed that seemed impossible for their size, lashing out at Leo. He leapt backward, trying to avoid them. More moved behind him and he barely avoided getting ground into the floor. Grabbing his katana, he slashed at the tentacle closest, missing by mere inches as yet another tentacle whipped toward him and this time connected with his plastron. He flew backward, hitting the cavern wall hard and landing in a heap on the ground.

Meanwhile, Michelangelo had got back up and rather than join the fight against Raphael, tried to recall where Leo had been standing when he had been grabbed by the creature and dropped the meteor spear. There was no sign of it anywhere.

A tentacle shot through the cavern with surprising swiftness, aimed straight at him. Dodging, he avoided the blow and those that followed, jumping and ducking, being forced backward. He leapt over a particularly low shot and landing, felt his heel hit thin air, heat against his shell. He had landed on the precipice where the meteor was housed, the fire surrounding it close enough to reach out and touch.

Another onslaught of tentacles forced him to leap the meteor, landing on the other side, facing the gap. He could see Don and Raph fighting; Leo slumped on the floor, trying to regain his senses. He had to go and help them, had to…

From the corner of his eye, he saw something glowing in the darkness, a dull red.

_There!_

Running over to the glow, he dropped to his knees and found the spear almost hidden in the shadows. Grabbing it, he stood up and turned…

Just as the creature revealed itself.

The ground shook as it pulled itself up through the floor, huger than Mikey could ever have imagined. Its head reminded him of a lobster, the mouth sideways on with shorter tentacles around it, the larger, longer ones acting as its legs. But the eyes were insectile, located far to each side of its head – and what looked almost like a third eye, a shining light in the centre that glowed so brightly that it hurt to look at it. Mikey paused momentarily, staring at the thing, eyes narrowed to block out the light.

That's what's been controlling Raph… 

Behind the creature, he could see Don go down, Raph getting the better of him. A second later, a newly roused Leo brought a sword around in a sweeping arc, stopping the sun and moon dagger that Raph was aiming at Donnie's face.

Up to me.

Mike ran at the creature, held the spear aloft and took aim, hoping that his training and practise would pay off in spite of him not using bladed weapons on a regular basis…

...Michelangelo...

Mikey blinked, his aim faltering. The voice had sounded right inside his head, without the words being spoken out loud. So familiar, persuasive.

_...Feel my power..._

He could feel its power from where he stood, as if the creature were throwing it off as easily as the light that shone from it.

_... See my strength..._

He had already seen its strength. It had thrown them around like they were toys.

_...You cannot fight me..._

He could feel the creature within his mind, almost as if the tentacles he could see were accompanied by invisible ones that crawled over his thoughts and burrowed into his head.

It was unpleasant. And yet…

...You cannot win...

Win? Against this? Of course he couldn't win. He could see that now He could sense the age and infinite experience of the creature, see the demise of the many who had tried to defeat it. None had succeeded. Why should he?

_...If you serve me, I will give you cities. I will give you power and wealth..._

Power. Wealth. The things that he had been brought up knowing were important. Master Saki had sought and achieved both and he had been able to live in the world, getting whatever he wanted. Maybe Michelangelo too would be able to find his place outside the sewer – if he had the power. And wealth brought power. Hadn't his brothers said so less than an hour ago?

...I will give you the world...

Michelangelo grinned. His eyes flashed red and he threw the spear to one side. Looking at the creature's light no longer hurt. The glow bathed him, illuminated him, made him stronger, able to see the way forward, into a world that no longer shunned him, but revered him…

A world where your brother is still a prisoner.

Mike frowned slightly, shaking his head as if to dispel the notion. He would have everything he ever wanted – if he were to just do this one thing.

Nothing's free Mikey, you know that by now. At what price, this wealth and power? When have you ever wanted those things, more than anything else? What do you really want? Because I don't think this monster can give you that.

What did he really want?

His family, reunited. His brothers, safe.

Gritting his teeth, he shook his head again, more violently this time. The red light in his eyes flickered and died, revealing his own blue orbs, wide and shocked but without the tinge of the creature.

"I don't want the world. I want my family."

He dropped and rolled, snatching up the spear and jumping to his feet. Without pausing to check his aim, he hurled the meteor spear directly at the creature.

The spear flew directly from his hands and lodged into the centre of the creature's face, the third eye where its red light emitted.

It screamed, the noise drilling directly into the skulls of all the turtles. Instinctively, Mike clapped his hands to the side of his head to no avail. He could see Leo and Donnie do likewise – and Raph too, incapacitated by the telepathic howls.

The light from the creature grew still brighter and Mike closed his eyes, the light penetrating even through his eyelids. He turned his head, raising his one hand to cover his face and try for some protection as the shrieks grew ever louder.

And suddenly, there was darkness and silence.

Cautiously, Mikey opened his eyes and peeked from behind his hand. The destruction the creature had wrought was still very much evident and the meteor still glowed, the fire around it burning and providing some light to see by. But the creature itself had gone, leaving no trace…

Almost no trace. There was a red spillage leading into the hole the creature had come from, not blood but more like an ichor that glowed in the light of the meteor.

Mikey closed his eyes and exhaled deeply.

"Guys!"

Opening his eyes at the sound of Donnie's voice, Mike shook himself out of his reverie and looked over. Leo was already on his feet and making his way to Don. But Don was kneeling on the floor, checking Raph's pulse.

Raphael lay on the floor, unmoving. He had gained no real injuries in the fight against his brothers and had been on his feet until the creature's screams. Mikey could see no reason for him being down and out.

Oh you liar, said a voice within him, the voice that just loved it when he messed up. It sounded quite a lot like Oroku Saki. When you killed the creature, you killed Raph too. That was the only thing keeping him alive. He was too badly hurt that night so they reanimated him. No creature, no brother. Should have taken it up on that offer.

"No," muttered Mike under his breath, hurrying over to the others.

Leo bit his lip. "Don…"

"He's alive," said Donnie, not bothering to disguise his relief. "But he's out of it. And we don't know what's gonna happen when he comes to."

"Alive." Mikey allowed a small smile to cross his beak.

Much to his surprise, Leo rested a hand on his shoulder. "You did good Mikey. Saved us all."

Embarrassed, Mikey looked at the floor. "Uh, thanks."

Raphael stirred and all three turtles tensed, waiting for what came next. There was every chance he would get up and attack them again – or was the creature's influence lifted now it was apparently dead?

As the long-missing turtle opened his eyes, they all searched for the telltale signs of possession – the red glow, the sudden urge to attack the others. But Raph's eyes were as they always had been, deep brown bordering on black, his eye ridges turning down into a scowl.

"What. The. Shell?"

Don stared. "Raph?"

"Anyone get the number of that truck?"

"Raph!"

Don pulled his brother into a sitting position and hugged him fiercely. "Raph, I – I thought you were dead, and you're – shit, it's good to see you!"

Raph put an arm around Don in response, while Mike and Leo grinned. "I'm okay. Now. I was beginning to think I'd never get free of that…" He stopped suddenly, his eyes growing wide. "Mikey?"

"I'm right here Raph." Mikey fought back tears and won – for the moment.

"I – remember. What happened on the roof…"

"You didn't do it Raph, we all know that."

Raph got into a standing position, moving slowly as if his muscles were stiff. "Your arm – I did that?"

"No, you didn't have a choice." To his credit, Mikey didn't even glance at the missing limb. But he could see Raph's face, the guilt and horror growing there.

"I'm sorry…" Raph tore his eyes away from Mikey's arm, the one that ended in a stub at the elbow, and stared at the floor instead.

"We can do regrets later," said Mike, not wanting to have this conversation at that moment, not when they still had a job to do.

"Raph." Leo tried to force the goofy grin off his face and look serious. Until that moment, he hadn't realised just how much he had missed his brother. "What happened? How did you end up here?"

"I don't really remember," said Raph, frustrated. "We fell and I twisted 'round and landed on my shell – I guess I lost consciousness then, but I know my shell – it shattered."

The other three turtles winced, unable to imagine just how much that would have hurt.

"Then I was – kinda drifting I guess. I knew time was passing but I wasn't thinking about anything much. It was a long time before I realised what was going on. There was a tube fulla liquid and these – worm things, crawling on me. I couldn't brush them off and turns out they were helping, healing all the wounds and, um, knitting the skin back together. Did a real shitty job with the shell though."

Raph frowned as he tried to recall events in a coherent order. "I was still pretty weak when they brought me down here. The creature snagged me, put me in a pod but I escaped. Didn't matter. I escaped a whole bunch of times, but I couldn't get out of the cavern. It just put me back in a pod and the whole thing started again. The last time, I was really beat down and it showed itself, crawled right of the floor and faced me. Tried to hold it off, but it kept wearing me down, crawling around in my head and I didn't have any way to fight it. It managed to take control of my mind…"

"It's okay Raph," said Mikey. "I faced it too and if I hadn't had the meteor spear, I couldn't have held it off. It crawls through your head, looking for a way in."

Raph nodded. "Just like that. I couldn't do anything about it. A part of me could see what I was doing, but everything was so confused. I thought I broke free right after I – after the night on the roof. Threw off the creatures influence and attacked Karai… but it was still in my head and it wasn't Karai at all, it was a Foot soldier who pissed her off. I couldn't see it until I wasn't myself again."

"The pods, the illusions there are little glamours," said Don. "It – I don't know, fed on them somehow. But it's influence extended and it used that to protect itself."

Leo nodded. "And where does Karai fit into this?"

"Saki," replied Raph. "He found this place not long before we left the Foot, found out about the monster and struck some kind of deal with it. It's alive and it understands humans – or aliens or whatever the hell Saki was. Saki could bring it what it needed and it could give him more power. Karai knew about it too and knew it could give her what she wanted."

"Us," said Don angrily. "Why kill us when she could torment us instead? Have us down here, reliving our worst nightmares over and over, or serving her against our will. That cunning bitch."

Mikey nodded slowly. "Where's Splinter in all this?"

"I don't know," replied Raph. "Haven't seen him since I got here. I don't even know if he's still alive or not. I didn't see anything after we hit the ground."

"Where's Karai now?" asked Donnie.

"Up there." Raph pointed toward the ceiling of the cavern. "Top floor. But she doesn't expect us to ever get out of here – I don't know if she'll be expecting us."

"Are you feeling up to taking her on?" Leo asked.

"You kidding?" Raph got a nasty gleam in his eye. "I've been waiting for this chance for months."

"Don? Mikey?"

"You know it," replied Don, while Mikey merely nodded grimly.

"Let's go then." Leo turned toward the exit of the cavern, his mouth set in a firm line. "This ends tonight. One way or another, we finish this now."

_&&&&&&&&&&_

_  
_**Authors Note: **Yes, another one. I'll be clarifying some more of what happened to Raph next chapter - which will be the last main chapter, followed by a short epilogue. Thanks for reading!


	10. Burning into The Night

**Author Note: **The next couple of hours should see this story completed, barring any complications. I know I said that there would be only one more chapter followed by an epilogue, but the last chapter got so long I'm breaking it into two. The epilogue is not quite finished, but should be done shortly. Enjoy!

**&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Karai stared through the window on the highest floor of the Volpehart building, her back to the others in the room. Contrary to what Donatello had surmised, she did have some cameras in the foyer of the building, hidden away. She had never needed the high-tech, highly visible security in this building – anyone entering was immediately drawn to the creature below the ground. But she had wanted to know when the turtles would show up, so that she would know when her time of triumph was at hand.

And tonight, her vigilance had been rewarded. The Foot soldier monitoring the hidden camera informed her as soon as they arrived and Karai had glanced at the screen as they descended into the darkness of the underground cavern, instructing the ninja to continue to watch. Although she believed that none of them would be coming back up the stairs.

She had been very surprised to see Michelangelo among their number. She had been back to the spot where he had fallen after the attack by Raphael several hours after they had left him and found no body, but there had been copious amounts of blood. She had assumed, when there had been no interest from Government officials, that the other two had found him and removed him. She had also assumed he was dead. There had been so much blood loss and damage done and it was unlikely that there was anyone able to help him, unless they revealed themselves to the world, maybe not even then.

But there he was, the scars and the grimace meaning it could be no one else. And the missing arm, evidence that he had been badly injured in the battle.

She had been worried when the three re-emerged from the cavern, heartened when they went back in several minutes later. They had found the meter spear, but so what? They would have no chance to use it.

But just in case…

"Raphael," she had ordered. "Ensure that they do not escape."

The turtle had left to so as ordered. She took pleasure in knowing that there had to be a part of him deep down that loathed taking her orders, that fought the control he was under – and could do nothing about it.

Rather than return to her office, she made her way to another room, set up more like a laboratory with added comfort. It was from here that she watched over the street. Her time of revenge was at hand. The three turtles would be trapped within the pods and who knew? Maybe they would attempt to get away, as Raphael had, but they would be no more successful than their unfortunate brother had been. The creature would not let them go, certainly would not let them use the meteor spear. Maybe she would use them as she had done Raphael – but more likely, she would let them spend the rest of their lives suffering their worst torments. She had no use for them after all. Maybe once her victory was assured, she would order Raphael to join them. A fitting punishment for betraying the Foot and murdering her father.

Only two others shared her room and one was in no condition to comment. She would have thought the other wouldn't dare. But some time after the three turtles descended the stairs for the second time, he gasped suddenly, startling her from her reverie and causing her to turn and glare at him.

"It's done," he said calmly, rubbing his forehead with two long, thin fingers.

"Done?" Karai stared at him in disdain. "What are you talking about Volpehart?"

"Those you sent to the cavern – they have done it. They have defeated the beast."

Karai's eyes widened in disbelief. _"What!?"_

Beads of perspiration stood out on the mans forehead and rolled down his face as he slumped further into his chair – but inexplicably, he gave a tired laugh.

"I'm free from its grasp…"

"_You lie!"_

Karai dashed forward, grabbing the old man by the shoulders and yanking him forward. "They _cannot_ escape! No one has _ever_ escaped! You –"

Volpehart exhaled, breathing out the last of the air in his lungs and beneath her fingers, Karai felt the rapid degeneration of his skin, muscle and bones. He fell forward, his body crumbling to ash and covering her clothes, kept alive only by his link to the creature. A link now severed.

Cursing in Japanese, Karai wiped her fingers on her clothes and kicked at the pile of clothing that was all that remained of the man.

_Damn him..._

Volpehart had served for hundreds of years as the creature's servant, filled with self-loathing but unable to break his link with the monster. When Saki had discovered its existence, he had decided the old man should remain. He could do them no harm and knew more than anyone about what lived beneath the building, should they require such knowledge. But he had made sure the ownership of the building was passed to him. The creature had made no move to stop him, maybe realising that the Shredder's ruthless practices could only help it.

Except this rapid disintegration of his body suggested more strongly than words that there no longer _was _a creature. Not only did that mean the three turtles had defeated it – it also meant that Raphael was more than likely free from its influence. And knowing him as well as she did, he would be in a blind rage, out for revenge.

_Damn ALL of them! _

She caught herself, forcing her breathing to slow, closing her eyes and clenching and unclenching her fists. There was no worth in giving in to anger right now. The dice were cast and not everything was against her. As soon as the turtles had entered the house, all members of the Foot had been put on alert; ready to move in the moment she gave the order. The turtles were no doubt weakened, Leonardo and Donatello from fighting the creature and Raphael, Michelangelo was missing an arm and Raphael had spent months under the influence of the creature, meaning even if he was fit to do battle, he would be filled with conflicting emotions of rage and shame, blinding his judgement, making him rash. They did not know this building the way they had known Foot headquarters, so they could not strategise as they had back then.

And she still had an ace up her sleeve.

There was _no way_ she would let them win. No way at all.

A frantic knocking at the door distracted her. "Mistress Karai! The turtles have come up from the cavern!"

Karai narrowed her eyes and threw the door open, startling the ninja. "Send the Foot down there to attack. Now."

_This ends now,_ she thought, not realising how closely her thoughts mirrored Leonardo's and if she had known, she would not have cared. _This ends tonight._

_&&&&&&&_

Raphael's mind was in turmoil.

Most of his thoughts were fuelled by rage, directed at Karai. They had beat him down, trapped him in the cavern with no way out, no way to get past the creature, no way to kill it. Eventually he'd had no choice but to let the creature into his mind – he had held out for a long time, but he could only take so much.

And the nightmares he had been subject to within the cells were nothing compared to the nightmare that awaited him once they let him out.

Ahead of him, he could see Mikey making his way up the spiral staircase, one nunchuck in his belt in easy reach of his right hand. No need for the second, because the arm was gone.

Gritting his teeth, Raph remembered what had happened that night, the night he had almost killed his brother. Karai had ordered him to go with her and he had no choice but to follow. Then she ordered him to attack. He could remember Mikey's pleading, his attempts to incapacitate without hurting.

_Swinging his sun and moon daggers at his much-loved brother, the spray of blood, the shock and pain written on his face…_

And _still _he had continued the attack, the part of his mind that remained sane screaming at him to stop, not to hurt Mikey any more, that he was going to kill him. That part of his mind had taken control a few minutes later, fighting the creatures presence until he finally managed to do something of his own free will and attack Karai, intending to kill her for what she had made him do. Only to find out it had all been a trick, a kind of mental torment and that he had not attacked Karai at all. The creature was still in his mind, messing with his perception of reality and the longer it remained, the stronger its influence was and the harder it was to fight.

_Bitch made me hurt Mikey._

And Mikey was changed, he could see that even in the brief time between regaining his free will and now. No hugs, no jokes, not a lot of real concern. He was happy to have Raph back – but guarded.

All three of them seemed more distant than they had before Karai had taken Raph, still family but not as willing to talk to each other, no banter. They were all business.

I'll get you Karai, for what you did to me – what you did to all of us. They've been through some kind of hell and I wasn't even there. Maybe it was me going missing that caused it.

Anger, taking over his mind. No way was she getting away with this. Turning him against his family and then using him to lure them into that same hell? No way.

The four climbed the stairs back into the foyer of the Volpehart building, Donatello walking over to the tapestry that hid the carving and pressing it down. Immediately, the hole in the floor closed once more. This time, hopefully forever.

And the moment the mechanism that powered the opening rumbled to a stop, they all became aware that they were not alone. Looking up, Raphael saw Foot ninja on the corridors overlooking the foyer, dozens of them, watching the turtles. Raph grinned without humour, his hands reaching to his belt for the sun and moon daggers that Karai had gifted on him after he had lost his own, the first the night he was taken, the second by burying it into his brothers arm.

Payback time. I'm SO looking forward to this...

As one, the ninjas leapt from the balconies and attacked.

Enraged, Raphael flew at the three nearest to him, running full-pelt, daggers in hand. The first swung a _chigiriki_ at him, which he ducked easily – all those years training with Michelangelo had paid off – and brought his dagger around in a wide sweeping arc. The dagger hit the ninja in the back of the neck, severing the spinal column and killing him instantly. Leaving the dagger embedded, Raph turned his attention to the second without even waiting for the first to sink to the ground, a high spinning kick to the face bringing forth a satisfying crunch. As he did, he threw the remaining dagger at the third ninja, hitting him in the shoulder and causing a deep, messy wound. The ninja forgot the battle as he looked down at the wound, reminded a second later when Raph grabbed the dagger and kicked him hard in the kneecap, dislocating it and rendering him immobile and howling on the floor. Flipping back to avoid a hail of shuriken, Raph landed in a crouch beside the first ninja, yanked the other dagger from his neck and threw himself into the fray once again.

Michelangelo was only slightly less brutal against their enemies, making up for his missing limb with an agility and inventiveness that he had previously shown only on occasion. A ninja slashing at his face with a _nagitana_ suddenly found himself aiming at thin air as Mikey dropped to a crouch and a sweeping kick knocked the ninja off his feet. A second later, Mikey snatched up the weapon and hurled it at another ninja approaching with a sword raised high. The tip buried into his chest, not deep but distracting the man long enough to receive a harsh blow from a nunchuck. Allowing momentum to carry him around, Mikey clobbered the original ninja, who had been creeping up behind him, across the face, leaping into the air and out of the way as another ninja behind him hurled a _hoko_. Instead of hitting Mikey, the _hoko_ caught the wounded ninja in the throat, impaling him. As Mikey landed, he took out another ninja with a punishing blow from his nunchaku, swiftly replacing them in his belt and grabbing shuriken from the fallen ninjas belt, hurling them in a deadly rain at a group rushing him. Three of them managed to avoid the onslaught, the others were not fast enough and met with slashes from the stars, some shallow but bloody, others deep and destined to leave scars. One ninja was hit directly in the eye and clapped a hand to his face as he squealed, more in fear and disgust than genuine pain – pain would come later, but the realisation was enough to put him out of the fight right then.

Leonardo allowed training to take over, not thinking too hard about what he was doing – if he had to pause and consider his next move, he would be dead. He just reacted to every threat that came his way. A ninja dropped from the balcony above, attempting to land on him and pound him into the floor. At the last possible second, Leo rolled forward and brought his sword up to meet the ninja as he dropped, cutting into his torso deeply and severely, but not fatally. A second tried to attack him from behind, but Leo merely flipped over him and kicked him in the back of the neck as he descended, knocking him atop the first. Deciding a group attack was a better plan, three ninjas attacked at once, Leonardo leapt once more, using a split kick to knock out two, landing and stabbing at the third, letting the ninjas own momentum impale him on the sword. He might live, but he could no longer fight.

Leo glanced across the room, to where Donatello was laying out ninjas left and right with his bo, the long reach meaning they weren't even getting close, Don's years of training ensuring that any projectiles were swiftly and skilfully avoided. "Donnie! We can't drag this out – we can't afford to let them tire us out!"

Don nodded, vaulting away from the ninjas and letting Leo cover him as he reached for the bag over his back, the one he always carried on such missions and, for one heart-stopping minute in the cavern, thought had been lost. He had recovered it though, along with some of the gadgets he had worked on during Mikey's recuperation.

Idly ducking a low-flying shuriken and allowing Leo to cover him as he searched, his hand closed over what he was looking for and he grinned. A part of ninjitsu was the art of distraction and diversion – a part he excelled at, far more so than his brothers.

_What do you get when you cross a techno-geek with a ninja?_ He thought to himself as he removed three shuriken from the bag and threw them, immediately going back to grab something else.

The shuriken embedded themselves in the tapestry that concealed the trigger to enter the underground cavern. For about ten seconds, nothing happened – then all three exploded. It wasn't the first time that Don had employed explosive shuriken, but these had a great deal more bang than anything he had used previously. The resulting explosion reduced the tapestry to burning shreds, blowing flames in a short burst across the room. The Foot were taken by surprise, either caught in the flames or forced to leap out of the way. Leo, Mike and Raph had guessed what Don was doing and already made themselves scarce.

The moment the shuriken exploded, Don hurled four smoke bombs on the floor. The resultant cloud obscured the entire room, Foot ninjas and turtles alike. The turtles knew exactly where they had to head and ran for the stairs in the centre of the foyer, leading to the upper levels. Higher up, the smoke thinned out there first and the turtles were able to make out each other's indistinct shapes while the Foot were still stumbling around below.

"This way," said Leo, turning a right turn and heading for the nearest door. He threw it open, made a very quick assessment of his surroundings and ducked into the shadows at the side of the room. The other three turtles followed suit, Mikey the last into the room and taking the time to close the door with as much silence as possible. The Foot would not be caught by surprise in that fashion again and he didn't want them locating which door the turtles had used by a careless sound.

Donatello scanned the room and spotted the cameras straight away. This one was no hidden affair as the ones in the foyer must have been – the sudden appearance of the Foot proved that someone had been watching them. These were state-of-the-art models, complete with motion sensors and probably night vision enhancer. He reached into his belt, removed three shuriken and hit the three of them, lodging the spikes in the screens rather than where the electronics were housed. That would be easier, but he was hoping that he might be able to disable all the cameras in the building by using the ones in this room. Wishful thinking perhaps, but with all that the Foot had put them through, the turtles deserved a little luck.

Leo took little notice of Donnie disabling the cameras, trusting him to find anything that might be watching them. The cameras going out of commission were as much of a clue as to their location as being seen on the screen was. Instead he took note of the room around him. It shared the same opulence as the foyer; lavish furnishings and expensive looking décor, but this room obviously hadn't been used for a while. The air felt oppressive and musty, the light from the streetlamps outside showing the thin layers of dust that lay over the table and mantle. This was perhaps once a study, but now seemed more like a museum exhibit.

"Mike, Raph, see if you can jam the door somehow," said Leo.

Mikey glanced around and dragged a heavy mahogany chair over to the door, bracing it under the handle. It wouldn't hold for long against an army of determined ninja, but it would give them an advance warning and a chance to vanish.

"I'll see if I can disable the cameras in the other room," said Donnie, rummaging in his bag for equipment.

Leo nodded. "Raph, where exactly is Karai?"

"Last I saw, she was on the top floor." Raph narrowed his eyes. "There's two more floors above us. I don't know how to get to her from here – usually used the back stairs. Goes right to the top."

"Typical," muttered Leo. "We saw those stairs before we got to the room with the meteor spear. Never thought to use them."

"Even if you did, we might not have found them in the smoke," said Mikey. "Anyway, no damn room to fight in that space. Foot would just keep on coming and we'd never get up the stairs."

"Easy enough to find her," added Raph. "We just keep going until we get to the top."

Donnie growled in disgust. "Sorry guys. These cameras are linked individually to the server. We can't take out all the cameras in every room from here."

"That's OK Don," said Leo. "Karai already knows we're coming. We just have to stay one step ahead of the Foot, get to her as soon as we can."

A thud at the door shook it on its frame, the heave chair Mikey had set up shuddering. Evidently, a ninja had decided to burst through and take them by surprise, not realising the door was jammed.

"Over there," said Leo, pointing to another door. He knew the odds of Foot ninja being on the other side were high, but it was their only option. Either go back through the Foot and end up back in the foyer, stay where they were or press on.

Unsheathing their weapons, the turtles hurried to the door and went through.

There was a long corridor there, portraits lining the walls, _objects d'art _ostentatiously displayed on shelves and in cabinets. In the silence, they heard the slight whine of the cameras tracking their position and without having to be told, Don hurled a shuriken at them.

"Let's go," said Leo, glancing at Raph. "Any ideas which way?"

"If we're staying away from the back stairs, we wanna head around the corner I think." Raph pointed to where the corridor turned 90 degrees. "But I've never been in this part of the building before."

"We'll get to the top, one way or another," replied Mikey and made his way toward the turn, expecting Foot ninja to leap out as soon as he put his beak around the corner – but there was no one there. Raising an eye ridge, Mike indicated to the other three that the coast was clear.

"Karai's gonna be sending more of the Foot after us soon," said Raph, sounding slightly more enthusiastic than was appropriate.

"That's how we'll know we're going the right way," muttered Leo, scanning the corridor. There were two doors, one at the far end of the corridor, the other in the centre.

"That one," said Donnie, indicating to the one in the centre of the corridor. "If my guess is right, the other one only leads to the other side of the main stairs. That one should go deeper into the house."

Leonardo passed Mikey and threw open the door, expecting that the Foot would attack the second he did so. But this room was as eerily silent as the corridor. And there was something about this room that didn't inspire a lot of confidence.

The space within was large, almost three quarters of the size of the foyer, and without the clutter of antiques. The floor was bare, polished wood and there was no furniture of any kind in the space.

The walls were another matter. There were mounts on each side, too numerous to count. Each held a weapon. Most of them were instantly recognisable to a ninja, training weapons for the most part, none-lethal – but one wall housed the weapons that meant business, the type that could do serious damage in the hands of a warrior.

Raph broke into a grin. "Oh yeah, this is more like it! This must be what Karai was using as the dojo!"

Don took out the camera without comment, while Raph wandered the room and examined the various implements. Mike simply stood to one side, while Leo checked for another exit. There was one at the far side, ornate double doors that were firmly closed.

"If you find anything you can use, take them," he ordered. "The less weapons the Foot have at their disposal, the better."

"That's just what I was gonna do," replied Raph, taking down a pair of sai and turning them over thoughtfully. "Come to papa!"

Donnie discovered a small shelf and replenished his dwindling shuriken supply with its contents. Mikey glanced around the walls with little interest, but eventually grabbed another nunchaku and put it in the right side of his belt alongside the first, just in case. As an afterthought, he also snagged a tessen, the weapon that Yuriko had thrown at him the night he had discovered Splinter. Leonardo checked the edge on a kama and kept a hold of it, glancing irritably at Raph. "Are you going to take _everything_?"

"Not everything," replied Raph, wistfully eyeing a pair of butterfly swords. "Well, alright. Everything."

As Raph reached out and grabbed the swords, the double doors burst open and six Foot ninjas leapt into the room, still more outside. Without even pausing, Raph hurled the swords directly at the group, who scattered. The ninjas trying to get into the room behind them weren't so lucky, one being sliced right across the carotid artery, another losing a chunk of meat from his arm.

Without pausing to check on their injured comrades, the other Foot ninjas dashed forward, ready to attack. The lead ninja headed straight for Leo, tonfa raised. Leo swung with the kama still in his hand and sliced it neatly in half before turning to allow the ninjas momentum to carry him past and delivering a blow to the head with the kama's handle. There was no time to congratulate himself however; the Foot was overrunning the room. In spite of the relatively narrow space they had to enter the room, they were still getting in too fast and there were a lot of them.

_We're heading the right way,_ thought Leo as he renewed his defence.

Raphael immediately ran to the nearest group of ninja, slashing with his sun and moon daggers, showing no mercy. Two Foot ninja went down immediately, upward strikes opening the skin on their necks and faces. A third fell victim to a deep strike across the torso as Raph turned the moment his first victims had been struck, sensing the person behind him and lashing out rather than planning a concentrated attack. A fourth leapt backward and out of the way of the daggers – until Raph hurled one straight at him. Widening his eyes, the ninja ducked aside too late and the blade cut easily through the fabric of his face mask, revealing a bloodied hole where the mans ear used to be. The appendage fell to the floor, immediately kicked out of the way as another Foot ninja closed in for attack. Raph repelled the attack with a kick, but found himself surrounded as the numbers of Foot ninja grew.

Mikey had been relying less and less on his nunchaku since losing half his arm, preferring to use stealth, speed and surprise – he still felt off balance using only one. But the tessen was still in his hand as the Foot entered the room and when the first ran for him, he lashed out with the weapon, extending the sharpened edge of the fan as he did so. The ninja ducked aside but Mikey let his arm continue on its arc and the blade buried into the soft skin between the shoulder and neck of the ninja. Mike let go of the weapon and leapt back, avoiding a blow from another ninja. He landed in a crouch and kicked the mans feet from under him, grabbing his nunchaku and leaping up, kicking at the third attacker and knocking him over, although doing no major harm. Because of his constantly changing perspective, he was the only one of the turtles to see that the last of the Foot ninja entering the room were not armed with the traditional hand-to-hand combat weapons that the others were.

They were armed with state of the art, high tech guns.

Donatello brandished his bo, using it both to attack and defend himself against the Foot ninja attacking him. A low sweep with the weapon knocked two Foot ninja over, ninja who had thought themselves too far from the turtle for him to do so. A moment later, he braced the staff against the floor and jumped, kicking another Foot ninja and immediately upon landing lifting it and jabbing it forward, knocking the wind from another opponent. He had time to reflect that had he still wielded his _nagitana, _he would have cut the man in two, when…

"Donnie, _look out_!"

"Huh?" Don looked around at Mikey's yell and without pausing to think – pause would have killed him – he threw himself aside. A missile roughly the size of a can of soup flew at speed past the space his head had occupied less than a second before and hit the wall, blasting a hole in the structure.

"Damn!" Donnie looked up and realised that although his brothers and he may have thinned the initial ranks of the ninja, those behind were far more heavily armed. A hail of lasers blasted around the room and all the turtles were forced to dive out of the way in a hurry. Normally, they would take cover behind something to give them time to come up with a plan, but there was nothing at all to take cover behind. The only options were to continue dodging or retreat through the door they had come through.

Leonardo dropped the kama and ran at the Foot soldiers and leapt, skilfully twisting in the air to avoid the lasers. He drew his katana in mid-air and sliced through the weapons of the two Foot ninjas at the front of the group, landing behind them all and attacking. He didn't bother holding back his attacks, knowing he couldn't afford to make any mistakes.

_We need a distraction,_ he thought grimly. The space was too open and the Foot ninja too numerous to overcome them by fighting. It was like the last time, when the Foot had tried to overwhelm them through sheer numbers and they couldn't afford to let them do it again.

He glanced over at where Donnie was dodging fire while hurling shuriken at the ninja and a plan came to mind. He raced over to his brother, gracefully avoiding the laser fire and hoping that Mikey and Raph could cover him for a moment while he found out if Donnie had what they needed.

"We need to get out of here," he said in a low voice. "There's a window back the way we came, can we climb to the top somehow?"

Don looked at Leo like he was insane. "I've got shuko spikes, but the Foot are just gonna fire on us room above…"

"We _have_ to. We can't get through this way. If we can distract them long enough, we can make it."

Donnie didn't look convinced, but nodded and grabbed the last four the exploding shuriken, intending to throw them at the feet of the attacking ninja. At the last second, he realised that a barrage of fire had forced Mikey into a corner with nowhere left to go and instead aimed straight at the weapon. One of them hit the gun dead on, jamming the barrel and the ninja threw down the gun too late. The resulting blast almost disintegrated the man, throwing those behind him aside with the force. The room seemed to shake, a hole erupting in the floor and swallowing three of the ninja, plaster and debris falling from the ceiling. The large window blew out in a hail of glass.

The turtles turned from the blast, shielding their eyes and trusting their shells to take the worst of it. Closest to the action, Raph was knocked off his feet, but he had realised when he saw the shuriken flying that it might be more prudent to get further away, for which he was grateful – any closer and he could have been scraped up and transformed into turtle soup.

"This way!" Leo shouted through the thickening smoke – a fire was smouldering where the four shuriken had gone off and it looked like it might spread. More reason to get this over with, before the building went up completely.

"Wrong way!" Raph snapped.

"We can't get through there, there's too much smoke!" Leo took off running through the door, the other three following him – but obviously not happy about the plan.

"We're running away now?" Raph clenched his fists in anger. "We need to finish this _tonight_, not let her get away and come after us again!"

"We will finish it." Leo indicated to the window. "Donnie brought shuko spikes. We'll climb to the top."

"And I still think the Foot are gonna notice us and just shoot out of the window," replied Donnie. "I have no desire to fall from this height."

"That explosion's gonna keep them busy," replied Leo. "We can be in there in a couple of minutes."

"And it takes less time than that for them to blast at us," replied Don.

"This is the only chance!" Leo glanced back at the dojo. "We can't get through there and the quickest way to the top is a straight line. We can't keep fighting the Foot, we'll be exhausted by the time we get to Karai, if we even manage to get through them. Just – trust me. Please."

There was silence for a few seconds then Don wordlessly handed out shuko spikes. Raph frowned at Leo. "How's Mikey gonna get up there?"

"I'll give him a hand," replied Leo and winced at the poor choice of words.

"I'll manage," growled Mikey. "Don't worry about me. Let's just get this over with."

Leo's hope for the distraction seemed to have some merit – there was smoke billowing from the side of building and it was a safe bet that the Foot would be distracted for at least a few minutes trying to quell the flames. It might be enough time to get to the top – but none of the turtles doubted that there would be security cameras on the outside of the building. As soon as Karai realised where they were heading, she could have a welcoming party waiting for them.

Or just blast them off the building and let them splatter in the street… but Leo doubted that would be the case. She didn't need the publicity. The fire might attract some attention, but this late at night in the business district, he thought they could risk being out in the open for two minutes. There was no other choice anyway. Two more floors of Foot ninja attacks after fighting the creature beneath the building too and they would be far more vulnerable to Karai.

As quickly, quietly and stealthily as they could, the four made their way up the side of the building, all half-expecting Mikey to make a comment about Spiderman although the scarred turtle remained silent. Leo led the way, half-expecting a barrage of gunfire any minute. But their climb was uneventful. Gunfire would probably also attract attention that a legitimate business didn't need.

_Two minutes twenty-three seconds, not bad_ thought Leo as he peered through the topmost window, viewing a sparse office, computer dark on the lone desk, light on the telephone beside it flashing with the sign of a message. There was no sign of any people in there. He doubted that would last.

No time for glasscutters, even if Donnie had some in his bag and a hand free to retrieve them. Pulling his katana from its sheath, he slammed it against the glass, shattering it and using the blade to clear the shards away. He sprang into the room, sword at the ready in case he had missed something…

And staggered backward as a blow from an unseen hand struck him in the face.

_Foot tech ninja!_

Donnie, climbing in behind him, was almost knocked out as Leo stumbled into him. Guessing immediately what was wrong, he muttered a terse warning to Mikey and Raph before leaping in through the window and trying to work out where the Foot techs were.

Realising that Mikey and Raph were in the most vulnerable position, Leo remained by the window rather than search out the Foot Tech right away. If there were more than one, it would be better to ensure no one could fall from the window. Donnie held his breath, waiting for some sign, while Mikey and then Raph jumped into the room. Raph crashed to one side the moment he did, struck by a blow from an unseen foe.

Leo glanced around the room, taking in the surroundings in a sweeping glance. There was nothing he could see that would conceivably reveal the whereabouts of the ninja and it was too risky to close his eyes and use their sound to track them, not when his brothers were there too – the person he struck could be one of them.

But they would have to do _something_, he realised as he heard footsteps to his left, turned and found no one there. He lashed out with a katana, coming into contact with empty air. A moment later, Mikey fell back into the wall as he was struck from behind.

The room wasn't large enough to contain more than four or five ninja, realised Leo, which seemed to be the right amount as all his brothers were tangling with an invisible ninja and he could hear the faint sounds of another in his vicinity. And the Foot Tech had the advantage, as they could see whom they were fighting.

So take away the advantage.

_How?_

He jumped, hearing the _swish _of metal cutting through the air. Not fast enough. A thin sizzle of pain cut through his forearm, nothing serious, but enough to steel his resolve. Karai knew where they were, no doubt wanting them taken alive rather than dead, although he knew their physical condition would be of secondary consideration to her. They had to cut the fight at short as possible, to avoid exhaustion, injury and any unwanted attention that the fire from below may have brought…

_The fire!_

They had seen thick smoke, but no alarms had sounded and the rooms further up, while containing the stale aroma of burning, were not heating or filling with smoke. The fire had been put out and quickly. Which meant sprinklers.

The realisation came to him less than a second before he reacted, looking up, seeing something that resembled what he searched for and jumping at it, swinging his katana and hoping that it would be enough to severe the pipes carrying water to the system.

He got half-lucky. Water spilled from the pipe – but in a torrent rather than a spray. Leo was immediately drenched, cursing wishing the water weren't so damn _cold_.

On the other hand, the sodden floor gave the four turtles a greater advantage – they could see the footsteps of the ninja as they approached, hear the movements far more clearly. Leo's initial guess had been correct – there were four separate sets of steps that they could discern. Gripping his swords tighter, Leo allowed himself a smirk. The Foot Tech he had fought previously had been complacent, relying on their invisibility rather than their skills in combat. If he had been able to beat them alone, the four of them should not have a problem.

Seeing the splashes that signalled an approach, Leo swung a katana at the spot the ninja should have been at. When the noises stopped but the sword hit nothing, he paused for the slightest moment and thrust the second behind him, this one hitting. A spark of electricity and the ninja was revealed, collapsing to the floor. For a second Leo was worried that the floor would conduct the electricity but the cloaking devices had been well designed and there was no comeback.

Raph didn't bother wait, hurling a dagger at an eddy of moving water. A second spark and the next ninja was revealed, the surge from the device rendering him immobile.

A third tried to be smart, leaping onto the desk to avoid the damp floor. But the desk was equally soaked and Donnie used his bo for height, aiming a hard kick to the man and knocking him from the desk, visible and out of the fight.

Mike ran at the fourth, using the water on the floor to go into a skid as he simultaneously ducked, a weapon passing over his head without effect. A kick to the back knocked the ninja off balance and a follow up blow from a nunchaku knocked him out. As an added precaution, Mike reached down, located the cloaking device and tore it off, not wanting him to come to and track them.

"Top floor," said Raph grimly. "This is where Karai was hiding out."

"Think she's still here?" asked Mikey.

"Karai wouldn't run," replied Leo. "She's waiting for us. And probably not alone."

"And she knows we're here." Don pointed up at the camera, which was still working thanks to him having no chance to immobilise it before the Foot Tech attacked.

"Doesn't matter," said Leo. "We're going to finish this."

"Right." Mike rested a hand on Leo's shell. "Come on bros."


	11. Put It Right

They went through the door, expecting an attack at any moment, but the hall was dark and empty, the simple, unadorned décor a stark contrast to the opulence of the lower levels.

_That was to lure victims to the monster, to appeal to their greed,_ realised Raph, regarding the shadows with narrowed eyes. _No one's ever supposed to get up here and Karai doesn't care about that..._

"Raph, do you know where she might be?" asked Leo in a low voice.

Raph indicated to each door in turn as he spoke. "That way's the stairs I used. Through there is the office where she was before, where the old guy was. The others, I never went into."

"Old guy?"

"No idea who he was, but he wasn't a threat to anyone. Feeble old guy, he'd beg Karai to kill the creature sometimes, but she wasn't listening."

Leo frowned. "Appearances can be deceptive. We should watch out for him."

"Trust me Leo, he wasn't a threat!"

For a second Leo looked he might argue the point, then merely nodded. "Okay. We'll check in there, in case she's still around. Then we search the other rooms."

Sticking to the shadows even as they doubted the precaution would do them much good; they made their way to the room where Raphael had left Karai. There was no one there, but in front of the desk was a pile of what looked like ashes. And amongst the ashes, remnants of clothes.

"I think that used to be the old guy," said Raph in confusion. "That's his clothes."

"What did she use on him, a flamethrower?" Mikey let his right hand creep down to his nunchaku and ensure it was still there. Finding Raph was one thing, but there was something creepy about that pile of ash, something not right. How could bones and flesh melt so easily, flamethrower or no?

"She's trying to freak us out," said Leo abruptly, turning from the room. "It doesn't matter what happened. She's not in here."

Donnie pointed down the hall, the room beside the back stairs. There were big double doors there, heavy looking and seemingly newer than the rest of the building. There was a coded lock on the outside of the door, but the tiny beam that showed it active was a steady green, indicating the lock wasn't active.

"Someone went to a lot of trouble to keep something in that room away from prying eyes," said Don quietly.

"And they left out the welcome mat," added Leo. "Any ideas Raph?"

Raph shook his head. "Never really noticed it – didn't notice _much_ when I had to be up here. I _know_ she never left it open though, not when I was around."

"Uh, does this smell like a trap to anyone else?" asked Donnie.

"Nowhere else to go," muttered Mikey.

Leo approached cautiously, suddenly remembering the last time they had broken into one of the Foot's buildings. That time, things had gone wrong in a hurry. They had achieved their goal, but had lost Raphael and Splinter. They would lose no one that night, he vowed. No matter what, he wouldn't let that happen again.

He pushed open the door and walked in to a scene from one of his nightmares.

The room was easily the size of the dojo they had gone through, but this one housed what looked like scientific equipment in one corner, hidden by the shadows. The fluorescent light was focused on the front of the room by the doors, leaving the corners and what else may be hidden there in silhouette. There was a panel on one wall, a green light flashing at the top, several buttons set into the metal.

Some time ago, he had been chased halfway across the city, beaten, battered and used as bait, to lure his brothers into a trap. Those who had done it stood in front of him.

Karai, clothed in the garb that Mikey had described from his own run in with her – the same clothes that the Shredder had used to intimidate and hide his true form – stood in the centre of the room, a sword in her left hand, the claw on the right hand gleaming in the artificial light.

On either side of her were members of the Foot Elite, five in all, weapons raised. In spite of their fearsome attack poises, none of them made a move forward.

Leo glared at the scene, feeling the presence of his brothers behind him as for a few long seconds, the two groups stood in a face off. Then Leo smirked and raised an eye ridge.

"Nice hats."

"Y'know, that's just what we said." Raph grinned widely at Karai. "Your pet monster got killed. Looks like you crapped out with your big revenge plan."

"I wouldn't say that," said Karai, her tone icy beneath the mask, still making no more to attack. "After all, _I_ didn't cut of Michelangelo's arm."

The grin fell from Raph's face and he tensed. Leo heard Mikey make a low growl under his breath and hoped that the transparent ploy to throw them off guard wouldn't make the pair rush in blindly.

"You're going down Karai," said Leo in a low voice.

"Not this night." Karai pointed the gauntlet at the turtles and the Foot Elite attacked.

The turtles dived forward, out of the way of the Elite. Don, Raph and Mikey immediately ran back to the ninja, blocking attacks and making their own, determined to take them down. The room was filled with the sound of metal clashing with metal, the occasional light sound of feet hitting the wooden floorboards as one of the combatants jumped and landed.

Leonardo went straight for Karai.

As Leo brought the katana down, Karai raised a gauntlet to stop it. The sword was halted and the two were brought face-to-face, Leo's visage in a snarl, Karai's impossible to read behind the Shredder's mask.

"What did you do with Splinter, Karai?"

She laughed, sounding metallic through the helmet. "I shall tell you Leonardo, only when my victory is assured. I shall let him watch as I slaughter you, one by one, and then he shall join you in death."

"Why? What did he ever do to you?"

"He was the one who began this! The chain of events that led to my fathers death started with him!"

"No! They started with the Shredder, when the Shredder took the five of us from our home…"

Karai shoved forwards and Leo took two steps back. Pressing the advantage, Karai lunged forward with her sword and Leo blocked with his katana, a kick to her midsection knocking her backward. She recovered quickly, but Leo didn't give her any time to pause as he ran for her, both katana swishing through the air.

Mikey leapt as a low swing with a _nagitana_ threatened to cut him off at the knees. He aimed a kick at the Elite swinging it, hitting his face and knocking him to the floor. However, as Mike landed a second Elite ninja delivered a punishing kick to the plastron that sent him flying into the far corner of the room. Mike crashed shell-first into the shadows, the medical or scientific things there.

With a groan, Mike pushed himself back to his feet with his one hand. Due to the unequal pressure, he turned slightly to the side as he rose, facing slightly away from the room. It was the only reason he realised what he had landed against. A tube, filled with some kind of liquid, a mild green glow coming from it that had previously been hidden due to the angle and the fact that the clear glass had been turned toward the wall. Forgetting the fight for a moment, knowing that Don and Raph had his back with the Elite, Mike peered further into the tube.

"SPLINTER!"

"Huh?" Raph and Donnie both turned slightly at the sound of Mike's voice, but could do little more as they fended off attacks from the four Elite still on their feet.

Leo didn't turn, still embroiled with his fight with Karai. But he heard Mikey's yell and redoubled his efforts. He slashed viciously with a katana and Karai brought up her gauntlet to stop it. The blade sliced through the leather straps that held it to her arm, leaving a thin scratch on the skin beneath and the gauntlet was sent spinning to the floor.

Karai glanced after it and looked back just in time to throw herself aside as Leo brought the second katana down in a direct line with her head. It missed by mere inches. Snarling behind the helmet, Karai swung her own sword upwards, forcing Leo to dodge.

Mikey ran back over to the fight, arriving next to Donnie and using a nunchuck to catch the sword swung at his brother. "Don! Go see what can be done with Splinter! He's in the tube in the corner!"

Donnie darted away and Mike tripped the Elite who tried to follow him. "Raph! We have to cover Don, give him the chance to get Splinter free."

"Easier said than done," muttered Raph, realising the Elite were trying to get past them to target Donnie. He ducked under a sword and popped up behind the ninja, a long sweep at his neck severing the skin almost to the spine. The ninja collapsed, dying.

"Two down…" Mikey somersaulted backward and took a second to glance over his shoulder. "Don, how's it going?"

"It's some kind of stasis tube! If I break it, I could make things worse!"

"No choice Donnie!" shouted Leo, ducking a punch. "We need to get him out!"

"No!" Karai slammed a foot into the soft part between Leo's shell and plastron, knocking the breath out of him and trying to get past and stop Donnie. Winded, Leo still managed to land a kick between her shoulder blades and knocked her to the floor, She rolled and got back up, in a second, going back for Leo.

Donnie regarded the tube in despair. Splinter was in there all right, floating naked in a viscous fluid. His eyes were closed and there seemed to be no signs of consciousness at all. The tube was hooked up to other equipment, but it was as if it had all been pushed against the wall in anticipation of the fight.

Leo was right. They couldn't leave him here. The risks of injuring Splinter by taking him out of the tube were high – but leaving him in there, the risks were even higher. Especially if they lost the fight. Then Splinter would have no chance at all.

Plus, Mikey's shell had cracked the tube. It was slight, barely noticeable – but in a few hours, the liquid would be draining out, the pressure trying to find an escape.

Raphael had a pair of sun and moon daggers, but the original that Donnie had found the night that he and Splinter had vanished was in its customary place, tucked in Donnie's belt. Removing it, Donnie sliced through the thick pipe leading into the tube. Immediately, the liquid began draining out of it. The glass was very thick and Donnie wondered how the hell he was supposed to get Splinter out – it would take forever to cut through with the dagger. Mikey had only made a small crack and only because he had hit the tube so hard. Then he glanced up and smiled. The tube was covered with a thick lid, but it didn't seem to be attached with anything. Removing his bo, he wedged it against the lid and pushed. It was heavy, but there was some give. Straining harder, trying to block out the sound of the fight and not worry about what was happening behind him, he shoved against the lid as hard as he could. For a second there was nothing – then the lid moved, falling with surprising ease and landing half-on the tube but unable to fall further because of the wall beside it. It ought to be enough.

Leaping, Don landed on the edge of the tube. The fluid was more than half-drained, soaking the floor of the room. Splinter was still out of it, but there was some movement in his limbs, muscles twitching. Don decided it was a good sign. It looked like he was waking up.

Dropping into the fluid and grimacing at the feel of it around his legs, Don grabbed Splinter and supported him into a standing position. For the first time, he noticed the state that Splinter was in. Patches of his fur were missing, revealing dark skin beneath. Also without fur were the scars that covered his body, in particular his torso and left arm. His muzzle looked curiously misaligned, as if broken then allowed to heal without being put back into place. And one of his ears was missing, not clipped cleanly but with a knob of skin that made it appear as if it had been twisted or forced off.

The rats eyes were twitching and a few hitching breaths came from his lungs. Donnie noticed something red and writhing on his fur and plucked it carefully off, examining it.

A worm.

Is this the thing that Raph was talking about? It doesn't look like any worm that I ever saw…

A loud thud and the tube shaking distracted Donnie and he glanced over to see an Elite ninja glaring at him from under his hat. A moment later there was another thud as the ninjas face crashed against the glass. He slid down the tube, revealing Mikey behind him, nunchaku whirling. Mike glanced up at Don, gave something that might have been an attempt at a reassuring smile but was more of a twitch of the mouth, then leapt back into the fray.

"Uhhh…"

Don looked down quickly. "Splinter?"

"My. I. Where is Raphael?"

"He's fine Sensei, he'll be fine," said Donnie in what he hoped was a calm voice, not even noticing that for the first time, he had given the rat the honorific title. "All four of us – we're OK."

Splinter opened his eyes and looked up at Donnie, a smile twitching on his face. Then he glanced around and frowned. "We are – at the Foot headquarters?"

"Not quite Splinter. I don't have time to explain, my brothers need me." Don unceremoniously put Splinter into a fireman's carry and leapt out of the tube, setting Splinter down beside it. "Just stay here. Don't move."

With that, he leapt back into the fight. A previously fallen Elite had got back to his feet, meaning that they had three to take care of. And all of the turtles were tired. The Elite could see their reactions slowing and pressed the advantage.

The fight between Leo and Karai raged on. Leo was as tired as his brothers, but sheer determination kept him from showing it. One false move and he was defeated. He slashed downward with a katana, forcing Karai back and making her lean her head forward. Less than a second later, he arced up with his other katana and caught the helmet beneath the chin, lifting it off her head and leaving a deep cut in her chin. Unmasked, she glared at him with pure hatred.

"Your plans failed Karai," he told her. "It's over."

"It is not over," she said in a low voice, gathering her sword in both hands. "I _will_ have my revenge for my father!"

An opening. The Elite he was facing overreached with his _nagitana_ and Raph lunged before he could correct himself, slashing deep with his dagger and opening the mans face in almost the same place that Mikey bore his scars – but deeper, much deeper. The ninja howled, backing up and dropping his weapon, his hand pressed to his face even as he collapsed into a rapidly widening puddle of his own blood.

Karai dived forward with the sword, and Leo blocked with his own, both weapons little more than a blur as they slashed and parried at each other, neither giving an inch or finding a way through the defence of the other.

Mikey raced toward an Elite ninja, dropping his nunchaku and without pausing in his run, snatched up a _chigiriki_ that belonged to a fallen ninja. A kama swing came at him, stomach-height, but by then he had already leapt into the air, swinging the chain he had used for so many year as he did. The weapon wrapped twice around the ninjas neck and as Mike landed, he adjusted his grip with lightening speed and yanked. The Elite's head was forced backward, the heavy chain cutting off his air. He dropped the kama and clawed at his throat, just as Mikey delivered a devastating kick to the mans shoulders, forcing the spine into an unnatural position and breaking his neck.

Leo blocked another lunge and worked his sword under Karai's, a single flick knocking it from her hands. Without hesitation, Karai dodged another blow and aimed a roundhouse kick to Leo's hand that rendered the limb nub and knocked his own sword away. Now he had only one.

Donnie tried to avoid the final Elite, only to be knocked off balance and down to one knee. Looking up, he saw the Elite towering above him and rolled away, grabbing his bo from where it had fallen and leaping up to his feet. The Elite came at him again, wielding a _hoko. _Standing his ground, Donnie waited until the last possible second before spinning off to one side and raising his bo, delivered the hardest shot of his life. It connected directly with the ninjas skull. For a moment, the man merely stood, not seeming anything but dazed. Then he fell bonelessly to the floor and never breathed again.

Karai rolled across the floor and snatched up a weapon – the katana that Leo had lost. Leo raced at her, his remaining sword ready to slash at her. Karai remained in a crouch for a second, then as Leo came closer, stood at the same time as she drove the sword forward. The blade jammed into Leo's shoulder, going through the skin and emerging from the other side, digging deeply into his shell and sticking there. Leo froze, his eyes wide in pain and disbelief.

Karai's own eyes were wide and shocked, as if unable to believe that she actually done it, that she had the advantage and the turtle injured before her. Then, the side of her mouth curled up into what was almost a smile and she twisted the sword with one sudden, jolting movement. Leo shrieked, the sword in his hand dropping to the floor in the light of the overwhelming _pain_.

"_LEO!"_

Raph's yell of anguish and fury cut through the room and the turtle didn't stop to think, merely acted, grabbing both his daggers, taking a few running steps at Karai and leaping, intending to kill her for what she had done to his brother…

And Karai anticipated the move. Without changing her almost deranged expression, she used the sword to yank Leo closer to her, using him as a shield. Without the chance to change course, there was no way that Raph could hit her without going through Leonardo. The only way that she would die was if Leo did too…

And then a blur of movement from her side, one that she never even saw and Leo was moving, jolted to the right. The move was so sudden, Karai was unprepared for it and Leo's body weight helped the momentum as Splinter knocked Leo aside. The sword remained in his shoulder, yanked right of Karai's hands…

And Karai couldn't get out of the way in time, could only stare up as the puppet she had controlled for so long came down, the force of gravity adding to the power of his arms as the sun and moon daggers both buried themselves deep into her skull, forced through the protective housing of her skull and into her brain.

Raph crashed into Karai, his hands letting go of the daggers as he fought unsuccessfully to keep himself upright. He toppled forward, taking Karai with him, landing on her as she sprawled on the ground. Blood began leaking from the twin wounds high in her forehead, matting her hair and marring her cheeks. Her eyes remained wide open and surprised, but the orbs began to take on a glassy, clouded look.

Karai was dead.

_&&&&&&&&&&_

The earlier explosion didn't seem to have attracted any attention and as Leo had guessed, the fire had to have been brought under control. Don took a few minutes, not happy about having to work so quickly, ordering Raph to put pressure on Leo's shoulder while he removed the sword and using the robe of a fallen Elite to bind it tightly. It would do until they got home to the lair.

Mikey had been put on guard duty, but if any of the Foot remained in the house, they weren't coming to the top floor. Still he remained vigilant. They hadn't come all this way to fall at the last hurdle.

Splinter seemed weakened, but coherent and aware. Obviously aware enough to realise what had been going on. If not for him, Leo would have taken the blow meant for Karai and Raph would have had his brother's death on his conscience as well as the loss of Mikey's arm. He answered questions carefully and calmly, insisting he needed little more than rest. He remembered nothing after the fall from the window and Raphael heading after him. Not the landing, or anything that happened afterward.

"We need to move," said Mikey, a little impatiently, from his position at the door.

"Agreed," said Donnie, helping Leo to his feet. "Lean on me Leo, we'll get you out of here now."

"There's nothing wrong with my _legs_ Don," slurred Leo, seemingly unsteady on his feet.

"Raph, can you get us out of here the back way? And Mike, give Splinter some help. He's been in that tube a long time, the muscles need time."

"Right," said Mikey, going over to Splinter and offering his arm. Splinter gave Mikey's missing limb a searching look, but said nothing about it.

"When we get out of here, we're gonna need help," said Don in a low voice as the group made their way down the back stairs that Raph had mentioned. "And that's assuming we get out without a fight. We find a place to duck into, an alley or something, and we call April. She can get us back to the lair or to her place and she can help me with the injuries too."

Raph nodded tersely. He didn't expect they would leave without a fight – but in that, he was proved wrong. When they got to the foyer, the evidence of the fight was apparent, but any dead ninja had been taken leaving behind only bloodied smears. The path to the outdoors was free and clear.

Raphael pulled open one of the huge doors to the Volpehart building and checked the street. There was no one around and an alley almost directly over the road. He motioned for them to hurry and the five mutants made their way over to it. The first rays of dawn were touching the sky as they passed a sleeping bum and spied a manhole ahead. Raph lifted it and they went down, helping Leo and Splinter carefully.

Donnie pulled out his shell-cell and debated. Having April pick them up could be difficult – people would soon be coming into the district to clean up and they might not be able to get to the van unseen. But it was a long trek back through the sewer. Shrugging slightly, he flipped it open and called her anyway. They would work that out when it happened. He's ask her to bring long coats and hats for the swift run at the van. They would work it out when it happened. For now, that wasn't the important part.

The important part was, they were free. And alive.

All of them.


	12. Epilogue: A Place Worth Living In

**Author Note: **Well, this is it dudes. The final instalment of the trilogy. I had a blast writing about the displaced turtles and I hope you enjoyed reading it too. My thanks, as ever, go to everyone who read, everyone who reviewed and everyone who gave me the incentive to keep up with this. I'll still be writing, although in the nrmal TMNT universe.

**&&&&&&&&&**_  
_

_Three weeks later..._

Leonardo stopped and looked over the water. This was the place where they had committed their final act for the Foot clan, using the Sword of Tengu to locate a suit of the strange metal it had been made of, a suit that seemingly had been of little use to the alien before he had been dispatched with the same sword. Leo's shoulder ached, but it was alright – it was the kind of ache that said the wound was healing, that he had exerted it and if there was nothing more than an ache there, he could think himself lucky. The wound was still covered with a bandage, but that was more to keep it safe from infection. The sewers weren't the cleanest place in the world and the hole Karai had left with her sword – _his _sword – had gone right through. She had missed bone, but he had lost plenty of blood and sustained tissue damaged. Still, it was healing rapidly.

His shell however, was another matter. He doubted that would ever heal again.

Behind him, Donatello glanced over the water too. "Seems like it all happened a hundred years ago," he said quietly.

Leo considered this. "Sometimes," he said. "Sometimes it seems like it was yesterday."

Don nodded sombrely. "How's the arm?"

"It's fine…" Leo caught himself, his impatient tone, remembering his vow with himself. He was going to trust his brothers from now on, trust them to know what was best for them and also to know how he was feeling. "It aches a little. But it doesn't bother me."

Don nodded, that half-smile on his face and Leo wondered just how much of his thoughts Donnie knew. The thought wasn't entirely an uneasy one.

"That sword," said Raphael from Leo's right. "Whatever happened to it?"

"Didn't we tell you?" Donnie blinked and realised they probably hadn't. It had been hard enough describing what had happened after Raphael and Splinter had fallen from the window and they had glossed over a lot – told Raph about the death of the Shredder and Karai's actions, but none of them had wanted to get too deep into the reason they hadn't immediately gone after them.

"Don fried all the tech in the Foot Headquarters with it," Leo said. "He's the reason they had to abandon the building."

Raph nodded, thinking for a moment that he'd heard enough, knowing it was hard for his brothers to talk about that night – but he had to know.

"What else happened after we went out of the window?"

Leo shrugged. "Don used the sword, like I said. Damn thing broke into a million pieces. Karai ran off and I went looking for her. And Mikey went after you."

Raph looked over at Mikey, who was silent, teeth showing where the scars pulled the corner of his mouth up. "Thanks bro."

Mikey gave a one-shouldered shrug and said nothing. Raph felt his shoulders slump a little. In the weeks since Karai had been defeated, he had fought to get his life back to normal, but it was hard. He wasn't sure where he fit into the family anymore.

Leo was making a concerted effort to pull himself out of his feelings of failure and spent a lot of time with Splinter, listening to the rat talk about learning to let things go and accepting that perfection could never be achieved. While Leo healed, he had come to realise that he was repeating the same mistakes as when they had left the Foot, trying to control rather than lead. Determined never to become like the Shredder, like in the terrible vision he'd had under the influence of the creature beneath the Volpehart building, he was trying to rebuild his ties with his brothers and accept the rat who would have been their father, had circumstances been different.

Donnie had done all he could to aid Leo's recovery, taking care of bandaging and cleaning it for almost two weeks, when Leo finally told him to go mother someone else. Don had also taken charge of ensuring Splinter was healthy, pronouncing him in good health but weakened from many months of not moving around. He had suggested that Splinter get lots of exercise and Splinter, looking amused, had agreed. He had also taken it on himself to monitor the media frenzy around Karai and what had happened to her.

Mikey had been withdrawn. Not badly hurt in the battle, he had been training but the intensity he used to have seemed gone, spent now there was no Foot to fight against. He was glad to have them gone, but his purpose seemed to have gone along with them. He never gave any sign that he resented Raph, would happily sit with the family as they sat in front of the television or at the table to eat – but he wouldn't speak unless a reply was expected from him and certainly wasn't making the same attempts to change his ways as Leo was.

Raph had tried building his bridges with all of them, with varying levels of success. When they had arrived home to the lair after their fight with Karai, there had been more pressing issues, like helping Leo and Splinter and all of them getting some rest. He himself had slept for almost sixteen hours and when he woke, it had been with a free-floating anxiety that even though the nightmare was over, things were still not right.

The first thing he had done was to ditch the sun and moon daggers. It no longer felt right to be carrying them around when he had used one to sever his brother's arm.

Leo had been the first person he had spoken to, sitting upright on the couch in a slumber. When Raph had woke him to ask him if he wouldn't be more comfortable in bed, Leo had declined because he kept rolling on his wound. And it was Leo who had made the first move, telling Raph that he was sorry he had waited so long to go after Karai, that he hadn't known if Raph was alive or dead.

Donnie had been simpler still. His smart brother was overcome with guilt for never once entertaining the notion that Raph was alive, even after Mikey had seen him. Raph replied that he was pretty surprised to still be alive himself, and that he wouldn't have been had he not been taken by Karai.

Mikey though, Mikey remained an enigma. Even speaking to Mikey then was probably the hardest thing he had ever done in his life, knowing that it was his fault Mike was short an arm. He had given a heartfelt apology, desperate for forgiveness, not knowing what to do or say that would make things any better. Mike had merely told him not to worry about it and walked away. That was somehow worse than if Mikey had yelled or hit him. Since then he had tried in a thousand small ways to bridge the gap between them, without success. It was Mikey who had gone all-out to find him and now he was back, Mike didn't seem to want to know.

Raph gazed back out over the water, remembering how dark it had been the night they had brought the sword here – they had created a power outage all across the neighbourhood, better to work in the darkness – and when he spoke, he didn't realise he had been going to until the words had left his mouth.

"She was going crazy, y'know."

The other three looked at him with matching frowns. "Who?" asked Leo.

"Karai. She was sick with anger when I – while the creature had my mind. She's rant and rave and having me in front of her seemed to make it worse. She planned carefully, everything was in place for the things she wanted to do and we shouldn't have made it out alive. We _shouldn't_. But those last few days, it was like she was coming unglued. It was the waiting for something to happen. She thought that when Mikey wasn't where we left him, that you'd found him and you two would be coming after her. And she left so many clues about where she was. She didn't know why you didn't come to the building."

There was silence for a moment "We were at the Battle Nexus," said Leo carefully, wondering if Raph blamed them for not coming for him sooner.

"I know. You had to go there, for Mikey. But we didn't at the time. And I think it affected her more than she thought. She didn't know if you'd run or hidden or were waiting – it was the wait that got to her."

"What was the final verdict on her?" asked Leo abruptly, directing the question at Donnie.

Donnie sighed. "They think it was some random burglary, that she was attacked by a robber who used one of the weapons they assumed were decorative to kill her. They figure she was in there alone. No mention of the blood or any signs of the fight, but the Foot might have cleaned up. Anything's possible. As long as they're not looking for anything premeditated, we shouldn't worry too much."

"From the police anyway," said Leo grimly. "The Foot might be looking for retribution still."

"I don't think so," said Mike unexpectedly. "Think about it. They were pawns in all of this. Us versus Shredder and Karai. They cleared out, but they left her there. None of them have even tried to hide her body and lay claim to the money she had. It would have been easy, but it's like they cut all ties. I think they're out of the feud."

"Maybe," said Leo, unconvinced. "But…" He hesitated a moment, not sure if he should say it. "I'm not glad that she's dead. I know what she did to us, but she was my friend for a long time. I just wish she could have let things go, understand that we had to kill Shredder before he killed us, without carrying on some senseless feud. None of this had to happen, but she chose to follow her Master rather than her honour. I guess I can see why and I don't agree, but I still can't be happy that she's dead."

"Karai was..." Raph thought about it. "To me, when we were growing up, Karai was like the big sister we never saw. Us three anyway. We did what we had to do and I'm not glad she's dead – but I'm not sorry either. And the Foot might just be biding their time before they come after us."

"We can be ready if the Foot show up," said Donnie determinedly.

"And there's always trouble in the city," added Raph.

Mikey snorted. "Yeah, in New York, troubles five foot tall, green and bad tempered."

Raph looked over to see Mikey giving him a sideways look. He couldn't help it – his mouth twitched into a grin. "Mikey, was that a joke? From you?"

"I never joke," said Mikey, but the right side of his mouth curved up in the closest he ever got to a smile.

"Ah, you nunchucks-for-brains." Raph put a companiable arm around Mikey and for a second regretted it – but then Mikey returned the gesture with his good arm slung over Raph's shoulder.

Leo looked pleased at the display, but tried to hide it. "I guess it's time we went on home. Who's up for ice-cream on the way?"

"I got a disguise!" Donnie pulled a hat and a lightweight trench coat from the ever-present bag that he was never without anymore, not since it had saved their bacon on so many occasions.

Leo shook his head in disbelief. "One of these days I'm gonna say, 'Who's up for a trip to Hawaii?' and you'll pull a plane out of that thing."

Mikey looked skyward. "Please try that!"

"Two jokes in five minutes?" Leo tried to look serious. "OK, where's Mikey and what have you done with our brother?"

"Oh, ha ha. Listen to the funny mutant." Mike rolled his eyes, but didn't look annoyed.

"I'll call Splinter, see if he wants anything," said Don, pulling a shell-cell out of his bag.

"You taught him how to use that yet?" asked Raph with a smirk. Splinter's lack of technical knowledge was legendary.

"I think we've mastered the art of pressing the right button to receive the call," replied Don, preparing to call the rat.

That was when the shout reached them from the other side of the docks, feminine and scared.

"Help me! Someone help me!"

"Sounds like our cue," said Leo, drawing a katana. "Who's with me?"

"I could always use the workout," said Raph with a grin.

"Helping citizens in need, just the thing to work up an appetite for ice cream!" Donnie put his shell-cell away quickly.

Mikey sighed. "My brothers the jokers. Let's just go rescue the lady."

Blending into the shadows, the four of them ran in the direction of the cry they had just heard, determined to use what they had been taught all their lives for the good of people who needed it rather than themselves. Not quite healed yet but getting there. Not sure of their roles in the world from there on out, but determined to find them.

And all of them knowing that no matter what, they would always be a family.


End file.
